


A Remedy For Your Love

by beaniebetty (kBAN)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 'A classmate is sick' inspired situation from manga/animes, AU, But Betty is stubborn and in denial, Cocky Jughead, Everyone knows but her, F/M, Flirty Jughead, Fluff and Humor, Her body knows what it wants though, Her friends know too, Hilarity Ensues, Humor, Jughead Jones Loves Betty Cooper, Jughead gets a cold, Jughead is hot, Jughead loves Betty, Nurse!Betty (sorta), OOC, Pining, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, romcom, sexual feelings, taking care of a sick serpent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-01-23 23:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 41,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21328636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kBAN/pseuds/beaniebetty
Summary: “Jughead, we’re too different.”“Opposites attract.”“We have no similarities.”“We’ll find something to compare.”~Betty Cooper is a straight A, punctual, and overall well mannered student with no time for boys or love.Jughead Jones is a rule breaking toublemaker who's constantly flirting....with Betty Cooper.She's been ignoring his advances for years, but when the Serpent King with a cocky attitude comes down with a chilling cold, it's Betty who's been asked to nurse him back to health! With his defenses down, Betty might just learn that there's more to him then a 'bad boy' attitude hidden underneath that leather jacket. She might even learn the biggest lesson of all: to Love.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 240
Kudos: 472





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first written Bughead fic!
> 
> A few things to mention: I'm a big manga/anime fan, so this entire story was actually inspired by a popular romcom gag commonly seen in shoujo(girls comics) The whole 'boy you like/hate is sick and you have to go to his house/take care of him.' So I took that idea made a whole lil story out of it! I think it's a pretty fun AND funny fic with fluff (and a few naughty bits) sprinkled on top. It's been a loooooong time since I've written anything, so please excuse any bad grammar and mistakes, sorry!
> 
> Also, this AU Jug is diff regarding his appearance (besides being super confident and flirty) he's more buff then the regular 'lean/lanky' Jug commonly described (not that i have anything wrong with that, I dont mind either!) but not as crazy buff as Archie. I also made him about a good foot taller then Betty AND he lives with Gladys instead, but the family is all together in RD, just seperate living situations. There's also no drunk FP and the Serpents are more of a gang of hooligans rather then drug dealers/murders. There's no 'beating-into-initiation' nonsense either. That's all, sorry for the long notes, enjoy!

# The Favor

### 

“Mr. Jones! I will not ask you again to keep QUIET!”

Jughead and his goons giggle quietly to themselves as they hunch over their desks in what the homeroom teacher _hopes_ is in an attempt to behave. Betty glares back at them from her seat in the front (being the proper student that she is) and is clearly just as annoyed as their teacher, Mr. Fritz. Jughead catches her stare and with a wink he puckers his lips to send her a kiss. She rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the front. Three years ago when Southside High was forced to shut down due to an array of problems and lack of teachers, students who were deemed to ‘have potential’ were integrated into neighboring schools. 

Mr. Fritz wishes that _this group_, the Southside Serpents (as they had loudly deemed themselves when they first walked into his classroom and immediately started causing mischief) were sent to another school, possibly Greendale, instead. Betty is sure they are the reason for her teachers growing greys in his hairline over the years. 

Jughead Jones and his gang were nothing but trouble since day one, and she remembers it all too well. Having been shocked to hear the announcement of _juveniles_ merging into her pristine school and even more so when Jughead kicked poor Archie Andrews out of his seat to sit next to her and hear his epic one liner of _“Hey there, Sunshine. You just brightened up my gloomy day.” _had left Betty anything less than enthusiastic about having him as a classmate.

Thankfully Mr. Fritz ushered a young Jughead out of Archie’s seat and promptly had him take one in the back of the classroom, where the rest of his Southside buddies had situated themselves. 

Throughout the years Jughead and his gang would continue to make a name out of themselves as troublemakers. Knocking over books in the library, kicking over chairs in the classrooms and placing fake snakes into unsuspecting kids’ desks. Betty has caught him on more than one occasion smoking in the teachers parking lot, ditching class and even having silly string battles in the stairwells. And every single time he would constantly flirt and hit on her.

She thought it was just hormones of a growing teenage boy or that he was just being mean; a guy like him, flirting with a goody-two-shoes like her. But she never caught him acting that way towards any other girls. There have been a handful of times when other girls would try and flirt with him, but they were never able to hold his interest.

Even when the popular girls like Ginger Lopez and Cheryl Blossom tried their hands on getting the young Serpent Kings’ attention, they were very displeased when Jughead seemed _bored _ with their antics and briskly walked away to go flirt with the Bulldogs instead. 

It bruised their ego at being rejected, because none could argue that despite being the leader of a rowdy gang, Jughead Jones is a very handsome young man. His striking blue eyes could make any girl swoon. Soft black locks of hair peeking out under a crown shaped beanie were just dying to have fingers run through them. His build was easily defined, despite always wearing his signature Serpent jacket. And he was tall, much taller than Betty, which made it all the more frustrating when she would argue with him over his usual bad boy (or flirtatious) antics.

He would have such a sappy look on his face as she scolded him, that damn cocky smirk adorning his beauty marked face, the soft chuckles coming out of him when she would whack at his arms and chest as she’d yell at him to _‘take her seriously!’_

His friends would say that he’s whipped. That he’s hopelessly head over heels for the Cooper girl. And he wouldn’t correct them. _‘Hell yea’_ he would say,_ ‘A girl like Betty is one of a kind. She doesn’t know it yet, but we’re meant for one another. I just know it..’’ _A hopeless romantic is one of the last things anyone would associate the leader of the Southside Serpents as, but Jughead was true to his word and would continue to pine for Betty all throughout their high school years. 

And committed he was. He basically made claim to her with his corny pick up line. But to the few who weren’t quick to catch on, or who were bold enough to try and ask Betty out anyways, Jughead made it very clear that she was _his girl_ and _off limits! _Pushing them into lockers or giving them menacing glares accompanied with none too friendly gestures.

Even his fellow Serpents would help threaten those who slipped under Jughead’s radar who’d try to strike up a conversation with Betty, that they better _“Back off ‘less they want a fat lip and a black eye, courtesy of the Serpent King.” _

(Of course no one really got hurt. Upon Betty’s request, Jughead and his gang wouldn’t do any real bodily harm to anyone. Just shake and spook them up a bit. Although THAT annoyed her too, she knew when to pick her battles with the stubborn, infatuated Jones boy.)

Where some have wondered how hard it must have been for Betty to not have gone on any dates (regardless of the endless amount of times Jughead would ask her, to which she would always decline) the truth of the matter was that she was more interested in her studies. Which was actually a relief to some of her classmates, too scared to think about how violent Jughead much turn if Betty ever DID agree to go out on a date with some boy lucky enough to grab her attention.

_It’s not like I want to go out with them anyways, studies and grades are more important! I don't have time for dating. _

She would tell herself. It annoyed her that it would seem so _shocking_ to everyone that she wanted to choose having good grades so she could live a comfortable life that a good education could give her, over sucking face on some boy. Betty LIKED learning. To discover new things and question theories and solve mysteries AND equations. It was because of these principles of hers that she just couldn’t fathom dating a guy like Jughead, whose total lack of respect for school would be such a juxtaposition for her. 

Her friends Kevin Keller and Veronica Lodge would disagree. They’d say that she liked challenges and that dating Jughead would be the ‘ultimate challenge’. 

_'You’d have such fun DISCOVERING his body and LEARNING what things he’d like.'_ Veronica would say with a wink, earning a scoff and eye roll from a pink eared Betty. 

_'Yeah, plus im sure he’s developed a thing for nerdy school girls. You could experiment with which will send him to an early grave sooner, knee high socks or thick rimmed glasses.'_ Kevin would muse while Betty’s shrieks of _KEVIN!!_ would turn heads in their directions in the hallway, easily spotting the red-faced blonde. 

Nevertheless Betty Cooper would turn down Jughead Jones’ advances, put up with his flirtatious banter, and reprimand him and his Serpent pals whenever she caught them breaking rules or misbehaving. 

“PBBBBTTTTTT!!” 

The Serpents break out in laughter as a boy named Fangs, quickly hides the whoopee cushion under his desk. Others can’t help but giggle as well as poor Mr. Fritz just hangs his head and sighs, lowering his hand from the chalkboard. Betty can practically feel a headache coming from him as they both turn to look toward the back of the classroom. Jughead is hiding his smirk behind a fisted hand and simply replies with,

“What? _I was_ quiet.”

Betty rubs her temples and thinks that senior year will definitely be the most challenging year with Jughead just yet. She’s made it this far. With a determined look she thinks to herself, _bring it on._

###### 

The chime of the diner bell followed by the loud voices of the Serpents has Betty looking up from her book and placing her fork down onto her plate with a sigh. _Here we go,_ she thinks. As they shuffle (and shove) each other inside, Jughead enters and scans the diner for her. She’s sitting in her preferred spot on the left side. The Serpent's divide themselves into adjacent booths. Toni and Joaquin sitting into a large booth in the middle, Sweet Pea and Fangs taking the one on the left near the windows. Jughead walks past them and makes his way over to her.

“Hey gorgeous, this seat taken?” He asks and as usual helps himself to the empty space without waiting for her response.

“Ever so full of yourself, aren’t you Jones? How are you so sure that seat **isn’t** taken by someone, hmm?”

“Well for one, there’s only one plate of food, on **your** side. And two...I rang Pop earlier before coming in, asking if you were here and if you came alone.” He says with a grin. Betty glares at the front counter where Pop seems to be quite interested in wiping one of the milkshake glasses. _Pop! You traitor!_ She thinks (but she won’t actually hold it against the old man. She figures Jughead would have caused a ruckus looking for her, and she doesn’t want Pop having a hard time controlling him and his friends in the diner.)

“What do you want then?” She asks.

“You. In my lap, sharing a milkshake.” He winks and spreads his arm out on the vinyl backrest. Betty gives him a look and lets out an exasperated sigh. 

“Jug, when are you gonna give it rest?”

“When you finally say _‘Yes Jughead, i **do** want you climbing up to my window to sweep me off my feet with shakespearean quotes.’_” Betty folds her arms 

“My mother nearly had a conniption you know? I had to convince her not to screw my window shut after that.” 

“It was bad timing that Alice walked in at that moment. Plus, you did open the window to let me in-”

“To _**shoo**_ you away!” She corrects him.

“My point being,” He continues “Is that it’s the start of senior year, and I think it’s about time you started to nestle yourself under my arm when we walk to class.” He flicks his hair and gives her a lopsided smile.

Betty feels the corner of her lip twitch and she has to do everything in her power to keep herself in check. She does _**not**_ find this funny. No way.

“C’mon Jughead, It's been 3 years!”

“What can I say? I'm a man who likes a challenge” he shrugs. “And from what I hear, you like them too.” He grins. Betty’s eyes widen momentarily and she wonders if he’s been talking with Veronica and Kevin.

_Traitors!!_

She’s gonna give them an earful when she gets home tonight. She dismisses his comment with a wave of her hand. 

“Jughead, we’re too different.”

“Opposites attract.”

“We have no similarities.”

“We’ll find something to compare.”

“You’re childish.”

“That one is true!” A voice calls out. 

“Shut up Fangs!” He cranes his neck back to yell at his subordinate. Betty sighs and tries again.

“Listen, Forsythe-”

Jughead groans loudly and leans forward onto his forearms, dropping his head between his shoulders. 

“C’mon babe, you know I hate when you call me that.”

“And you know I hate when you call me _that._” She quips with a raised eyebrow. Picking his head up, he simply grins at her. Any damage done, gone, as quickly as it came. 

“You love it.” 

He flashes his pearly whites at her which makes a lovely shade of pink appear on her cheeks. Betty would continuously argue with her friends on many occasions over the years that its because he loves to get her all riled up. She’s not _blushing!I_ She’s annoyed. She’s not flustered with his bold declarations and clever wordings. And certainly not charmed by them. Most definitely not...

But Jughead’s not picky. He’ll take any response he can get out of her, truth be told. She’s fucking adorable either way. The way her lips make that cute kissable pout that he so desperately wants to taste. The way she stares at him so intensely that it makes his cock twitch every time. The way her chest is heaving right now, trying to control her breathing. (It all makes for great visuals when he’s in his bed at night thinking about her.) 

She catches onto his staring, tightens her folded arms and clears her throat to get his attention back UP to her face. But now he’s looking at her in such a way that she’s noticing just how **blue** his eyes really are. 

How the skin near his eyes crinkle and how his cheeks lift when he smiles at her. Looking at her with such intensity that it’s like they are the only two people in the diner right now, all of his attention directed solely at her..it's making her skin erupt in goosebumps. 

_Did Pop turn on the A/C?_ She breaks the contact and looks off to the side (certainly not flushed!) and tries to regain her thoughts. But Jughead notices and says in that cocky voice,

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or should i say, ‘snake’?” Betty looks back at him. 

“That makes no sense.” 

“Well we could talk it over at my place. Look up the history of idioms, figure out which works better, cats or snakes. They do have interesting, some would even say, _talented_ tongues you know. I think they’d work better with the phrase.”

“Cats have interesting tongues too.” Betty can’t help but argue back with amusement. She is part of the debate team after all. “They’re barbed to help groom their fur.” She adds matter-of-factly. Having unfolded her arms to lean onto the table as well.

Jughead has a look of mirth in his eyes.

“Yeah, but can they…_wiggle_ around like how snakes can?”

Betty tries but fails at stopping the growing smirk that graces her lips. 

“I believe they actually _flick_ their tongues around, not wiggle.” Jughead licks his bottom lip as he pulls it between his teeth. The action catching Betty’s eyes. 

“Oh didn't you know? They can actually do both. Yeah, they can flick and wiggle and lick...caress even.”

Betty closes her eyes and chuckles softly. Shaking her head in awe that she’s actually indulging in his ridiculous banter right now. There have been rare times, on occasion, when she wasn’t _completely_ annoyed by him, this seemed to be one of those times.

“Now I know that you’re making that up.”

“No, no. Its true, trust me i would know.”

“And you would know, because you..” She gestures towards his jacket and the other Serpents in the back, of which Toni and Joaquin are currently having a belching contest with one another, “you are.._affiliated_ with snakes, is that right? That makes you some kind of expert on them?” 

“Most definitely. I could..show you my expertise on the subject..On how talented snakes _tongues_ can be.” He leans in further towards her as he continues to stare into her big beautiful green eyes. Betty subconsciously leans in as well, resting her face on her palm.

She wants to argue back how he could possibly be such an expert, but then it occurs to her that he would had to have had...practice on the matter. And the thought of him ‘experimenting’ and ‘tongues’ thrown in with other girls suddenly makes her chest kinda hurt. She looks down at the table with a furrowed brow. Jughead straightens up at her troubled face. 

“Betts?”

It’s not like she cares if he’s talking to other girls..but.. It’s not like Jughead Jones to just start chatting up to other girls either. He’s never wanted to anyways! And why **would** he want to start talking to them?? Not when he’s said such things to her like, _‘Betty go out with me, Betty be mine, Betty I love you…’_

_Wait.._Betty thinks,_has he ever said that he..l-lov-?_ Suddenly her cheeks feel hot and she has a pounding in her ears. She realizes it’s her heart and her hands feel clammy. Although her eyes appear to be scanning the table, her thoughts are far from burgers and fries. 

_He’s always so cocky in trying to get me to go out with him. But he **is** sincere...I’ve seen him volunteer at the soup kitchens..Him and his friends help fix up old cars at the mechanics shop. And I know he can be sweet, with the way he goes on about his baby sister..Despite being in a gang, Jughead is...not entirely bad. He’s always over the top when he tries to get my attention, but..I never feel insulted by him, irritated with him sometimes, sure but..he doesn’t do anything to make me feel uncomfortable, just annoyed._

__

__

_But, hell, even his flirting doesn’t really bother me. Im sorta..used to it. But i guess, all this time I never really stopped to think **why** does he continue to flirt and ask me out? If not for it being just a crush or for his amusement..but no, Jughead would never do that..But to go on after all these years..to continuously pine over me..he could be.._

Her eyes widen slightly as Jughead continues to stare at her with some concern.

“Hey, you ok?”

Betty looks back up to him and it's like she’s seeing him for the first time. Not some juvenile from a run down school. Not some troublemaker who sets off cherry bombs under the bleachers. Not a boy who’s been told that it’s just _puppy love_ and that he will _outgrow it._ Because he didn’t. He’s been devoted to her all these years. The young man who sits before her, who although is very arrogant and conceited, has always stood by his word of _Betty is my one and only.._

And suddenly she _**is**_ blushing. She swallows thickly, feeling flustered and no longer in the mood for...whatever this was, so she starts to pack up her things. 

“Im fine Jug, I just..” She can barely look at him now. “I don’t have time for games tonight.”

_Does that mean you have time to play tomorrow night?_ He wants to say, but he bites his tongue to stop himself. Something seems to have upset her and he doesn’t want to get **all** her heckles in a rise. She gets up from her seat, shimmying out of the booth and opens her wallet. 

“Hey I'll take care of it.” He says, reaching a hand out in her direction. She raises an eyebrow at him with a bemused smile. 

“It’s ok Jughead. I’ve gotten a lot of tips babysitting over the summer.” It's not that she’s turned off by the idea of being treated to a meal, but she’s not gonna start to let Jughead pay for her. He might push it and do something silly, like try to feed her fries in that dopey way she sees other couples do. _(Not that **they’re** a couple)_ She coughs awkwardly into her hand. Or maybe he would try to reenact that infamous spaghetti scene...

Yeah, he’d _definitely_ would try and do that. She bites her lip at the thought, trying to suppress a giggle. The sound of her laugh puts him at ease. But Betty also doesn’t want Jughead spending his money where it can be put to better use. She knows the Jones’ struggle with bills. Any money that he does end up having, she wishes he would use to pay for his education and not spend it on her. He could use it to get a new bookbag...or maybe start with actually owning a notebook first. 

But instead he’s used it to buy her various gifts over the years. (And of course out of being a good person Betty has gifted him some things too, as simple thank you’s, and NOT as a way to reciprocate his advances.) It was really no surprise to her that the majority of the gifts she’s gotten would magically appear her locker. 

A dozen roses every Valentines, small jewelry for her birthdays (necklaces and bracelets that she would hide under her clothes sometimes) those rich imported chocolates on Christmas! The kind that her mother forbids because they’re _high in calories!_ But Jughead **knows** they’re her favorites. She would secretly eat them in her room, twirling her key necklace with one hand, and pop a chocolate into her mouth with the other, all while reading his hand written notes that were always attached with each gift. _‘Sweets for my Sweetie.’_ She remembers one of them saying. She kept all the letters. Arguing that it would be rude to throw! (and not because she secretly envied his handwriting) 

Feeling tickled at the memory of how Jughead would always put her first, even at the cost of his own impoverished conditions, she quickly pulls out her cash and lays it on the table 

“Feel free to have the rest of it.“ She tells him with a wave of her hand as she starts to walk away and **of course** Jughead is gonna turn his head to watch. Betty rolls her eyes, knowing that he’s checking her out (he always does) but for some reason she’s not completely annoyed by it. The ugly feeling in her chest from before dissipates, now that she’s feeling better.

Well that and the spaghetti scene is still playing off in her head, which makes her giggle again. 

As she makes her way towards the door, his friends are laughing and throwing ketchup packets, sugar packets and other various things (_spitballs??_) at each other from across their booths. They immediately stop when she approaches to let her through. Their amused faces and loud chatter go quiet in volume, but Betty just knows they will continue once she leaves. 

Sweet Pea, sitting on top of the vinyl, hops off to bow and extend an arm out for her to pass.

“Your Highness.” 

She gives him an unimpressed look as she walks out. They start to snicker just as Jughead comes up from behind and whacks Sweet Pea on the back of the head. 

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” The other serpents erupt in laughter at watching their friend get scolded. But Sweet Pea is a good sport, so he laughs as well.

“What? Just letting our future ‘Queen’ know it was safe to walk through.”

Jughead rolls **his** eyes for once and saunters back to Betty’s booth to help himself to her leftovers.

###### 

It’s Friday night and Betty has decided to kick off her parent free weekend with some baking and a sleepover at her house. She practically ran out the door, as soon as her mother and father’s cab drove away, taking them off to the airport for their ‘Celebrating Women of Journalism’ retreat and drove herself down to the grocery store.

Tonight she plans on inviting Veronica and Kevin over for some much needed TLC. They survived their first week as seniors and they wanted to go over the latest gossip. Betty figures if she will indulge in sugary goods, she will let herself indulge in that too. (And possibly try to slip in some studying as they go over their new school year’s syllabus.)

As she’s going over the list of ingredients she needs to bake what she decided will be a chocolate cake for tonight, she feels a figure bump into her from behind.

“Oof!”

“Shit!”

Betty turns to see a woman clad in all black leather, dark brown wavy hair, pursed lips and a very distinct tattoo (a cluster of stars) near her left eye. The women seemed to have been looking over her own grocery list when she collided with Betty.

“Oh, Mrs. Jones.”

Gladys Jones regards her for a minute before answering. 

“Betty Cooper. ” She says with an amused cheeky grin and suddenly Betty feels a small flush adorn her face. Over the years she’s _quite_ sure Jughead has mentioned her as his ‘girlfriend’ to his parents, despite Betty constantly disagreeing with him. But whether or not they believed him, it would seem his parents have decided to play along with his ‘delusions’ of their ‘relationship.’ 

During annual town gatherings and celebrations, FP Jones would thank her for _‘putting up’_ with his son and _‘keeping him in check’_ and Gladys would pull her in for hugs and tell her they _‘must go shopping together one day!’_ But Betty can’t yell at or hit an adult, so she would just glare at Jughead, hiding off to the side with a shit-eating grin on his face. She knows that his parents are just messing with her too. A common trait they all seem to share, to annoy and tease Betty Cooper. 

“How are ya kid? Sorry I bumped ya, I was trying to decipher this chicken scratch writing Jughead left me.” Betty tilts her head at Gladys. It might be unknown to some, because he never seems to take any notes down (possibly due to the absence of a notebook) but Jughead actually has very neat handwriting. She knows this from his letters. 

“Chicken scratch?” 

“Yeah, dumb kid went and got himself sick, **sick!** And during his first week as a senior. Can you believe that?” Gladys laughs. Betty pulls her head back at the news. 

“Oh..Is that why he wasn’t in school? Not that I noticed he wasn’t, I mean, not that I’ve been noticing him! No! Wait, what I meant was-” Gladys gives her a toothy grin and raspily laughs again. Betty closes her eyes and takes a moment to detangle her thoughts. Her ears feel strangely warm.

“It was actually _quiet_ in class today. And the other Serpents seemed less rowdy than usual.” 

“Yea that idiot must have caught Jellybean’s cold from last week it seems. Kid woke up sounding like the living dead. Acting like one too! Bitchin’ at me to get some food and medicine. Told him he had to wait till I got off work and here I am.” She gestures with her arms. Betty nods in understanding. 

“Almost 18 and I swear he’s acting like he’s 8.”

Betty bites her lip to hold in her smile. She knows all too well how Jughead doesn’t act his age sometimes.

“Anyways, if I dont get back soon i'm sure he’ll start decaying where he lies and I’ll never hear the end of it from him.” 

“Of course, Mrs. Jones, Tell him to get well-”

The sound of a ring cuts Betty off as Gladys fishes for her cellphone in her leather jacket. 

“_Goddamit Jughead! Ringing me every 5 minutes_.. Sorry hun, one sec!” She puts up a finger to keep Betty from leaving.

“What Jug!?....Oh FP…...What?...She _what!?_” Gladys turns slightly away from Betty, a look of shock and disbelief on her face. Betty, feeling concerned and confused tries to listen in on the other end, but Mrs Jones is holding the phone so close she cant make out what FP’s muffled voice is saying. 

“Jesus Christ! And they’re sure its broken? Alright ...Alright...No, We’ll go to my gal pal in Greendale…_Yes FP I'm sure_! Not like we’re taking her to see your guy when you idiots get hurt!.....Well you motorheads will eat gas station tacos but don't trust yourselves to go get annual check ups!...My point _being_ FP, is that my girl can get us in quick AND she can help us with the cost. She knows the doctor...Alright, you head over there with her now, I’ll meet ya there.” Gladys hangs up with a whispered _sonnovabitch_ and turns back to Betty who waits for some kind of clarification, eyes wide and filled with worry. 

“Jellybean was playing with some friends at a sleepover and broke her ankle. FP and I gotta take her over to the hospital in Greendale...better uh..finance options there.” 

“Oh my god, Mrs. Jones, I'm so sorry!” Betty feels horrible at the news. For one; she’s babysat Jellybean (at her own house of course) before and has grown quite fond of the kid. She’s shared her Nancy Drew books with Betty and they like to discuss what the next mysteries might entail, and two; she can only imagine the hell the poor kid will have to face, having to drive nearly 2 hours away because the Jones’ can't afford going to the hospital here in Riverdale.

“Yeah, Thanks Betty, I gotta go. See ya around.” As she turns to walk away, Betty reaches a hand out to stop her.

“Wait! What about Jughead?”

Gladys’ face scrunches up in annoyance.

“Aw SHIT! Almost forgot about him..Betty, be a doll and bring this over to him yeah?” Gladys hands over some cash and the list, which gives Betty a whole new look of worry.

“W-what??”

“Betty please, I dont got time to ride back to Jug AND meet up with FP. I need your help with this. Buy the stuff, take it over to Jughead, and just...take care of him for a bit, make sure he hasn’t croaked, ya know?”

“Y-you want me to go see Jughead?? Take care of him??”

_Alone??_

“Just for a couple of hours until we can bring Jelly home. I really appreciate this Betty.”

“B-But!”

“No time for buts, I gotta go!” And with that Gladys Jones whips around and quickly makes her way out of the store. Betty stays frozen in place, her mouth agape and her hands clutching two shopping lists. She comes out of her stumped out state when the roar of a motorcycle engine confirms that she has indeed been left with the task of bringing Jughead Jones food and medicine, and to look after him. For how long?

_A couple of hours she said_

Betty prays that it will only be for a few hours. So with her shoulder slumping down and feeling defeated, she whips out her phone to text Veronica and Kevin that there’s been a change of plans and that they will have to reschedule.

###### 

“OH MY GOD IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!”

Betty scrunches her face as she pulls the phone away from her ringing ear. She silently curses at herself for telling her friends the truth AND accepting their 3-way call…

_Hey guys, group message bc I’ve got no time to text either of you individually. But change of plans, I ran into Mrs. Jones at the grocery store and she received a call that JB broke her ankle. She’s got to drive all the way over to Greendale to meet up with FP._

_ **Oh no B! Poor JB!** _

_ **Yikes, that’s gotta suck..But how does that affect our plans? I’ve got the JUICIEST news 2 tell u both.** _

_Well she was buying some stuff for Jughead, was sick apparently and that’s why we haven’t seen him at school, and in her rush to leave the store she asked ME to bring him his medicine! Can you believe that?_

_ **OH** _

_ **M** _

_ **GEE!** _

_Guys!___

_**B! You’re going over to JUGHEAD JONES’ TRAILER??**_

_Guys! It’s not a big deal. I just need to drop some stuff off._

_**omg..R U GOING TO PLAY NURSE W HIM! LOL Wait does he like nurses? We only speculated that he liked nerds.**_

_What!? omg.._

_**Kev, any guy can be into nurses. Plus it’s Betty. She could go dressed as a sack of potatoes and Jughead would still find her hot.**_

_Kevin I’m NOT playing nurse, I'm not playing anything. I'm just doing a favor for Mrs. Jones._

_**That’s true, our dear Betty can work any outfit she chooses 2 wear and I STRONGLY suggest U wear knee high socks ;) I’ve seen slutty nurse costumes with those thigh high stockings so im sure U can subsitute it 4 the knee highs lmao :)))**_

_Omg, Kevin, stop._

_**I think I have a stetoscope from my couples costume with Archie last year. Gimmie 5 mins and I'll find it.**_

_V no, please. Im serious you guys! It’s JUST A FAVOR. Im just dropping his groceries off and taking care of him for a while until his parents get back._

_**You’re...taking care of him??? You didn’t mention you’d be STAYING at his trailer, B**_

_**O.M.G**_

_Yeah, so! And I did too say that._

_(Betty is certain that she did...most definitely...she’s not gonna scroll back up though.) _

_ANYWAYS, there’s nothing wrong with making sure that he is ok you guys!_

__

_**….why do YOU care if he’s ok Betty? xD**_

__

_What?_

_ __ _

_**Yea B, I mean I get that it’s just in your nature to always helps those in need, but it sounds to me like you actually WANT to go see Jughead. Afterall, YOU were the one who brought up his absence from school. Kevin and I hardly noticed. ^__~**_

_ __ _

_Shut up! You guys did too notice._

_ __ _

_**We’ve noticed that U have been talking about him more. Looking over at his direction this whole week. AND I heard from Midge that u 2 were looking pretty cozy in Pop’s the other night. Practically kissing each other over the table :-*****_

_ __ _

_What! Midge was there???_

_ __ _

_**OMG How did I miss this!?**_

_ __ _

_**She also said that Betty was laughing at his jokes and flirting back!!!! V IT WAS SCANDALOUS! I NEARLY FELL TO THE FLOOR WHEN SHE TOLD ME!!!**_

_ __ _

_We were NOT kissing! We were just talking!! It’s JUGHEAD. IT WAS THE USUAL STUFF THAT HE SAYS._

_ __ _

_**Ok, Soooo you two WEREN’T kissing BUT you do admit to the laughing and flirting back??**_

_ __ _

_(The ellipses on Betty’s end keep appearing and disappearing. Clearly trying to word out the proper response. Finally she writes back)_

_ __ _

_I only laughed a little and I would HARDLY call that flirting..._

__

_**V, B, 3 way-call right now.**_

###### 

And thus Betty wishes that she just lied about it as she lazily holds the phone to her ear, packing up the groceries and getting into the car. 

“Betty this is great! You’re finally giving into your feelings for Jughead.” Veronica says chirpily. A strangled choking noise comes out of Betty as a response.

“W-what!? What do you mean ‘_finally_’?”

“Betty, let’s be real,” Kevin interjects “You’ve been slowly falling for this boy DESPITE your whole charade of ‘_I hate him, he’s a headache, he drives me crazy_’ except _now_, he’s driving you crazy for a whole new reason.”

“I-I don't _hate_ him..” Betty whispers shyly and she can practically hear Kevin’s and Veronica’s smiles over the phone. “And I don’t have feelings for him!” She quickly adds.

“Sure B, whatever you say. Just promise us one thing.”

“...What?” Betty hesitates.

“That we are the FIRST you invite to the wedding.”

The sound of the line going dead has Veronica and Kevin laughing. 

“That girl is in such denial. I _**pray**_ that she comes to her senses tonight.”

“We can only hope so Kevin. At the very least Jughead will be having a very nice evening. What I would give to see his reaction when he opens the door to his sunshine blonde.”

“Same here girl. Same here.”

###### 

Betty tries to keep her composure as she pulls up into the trailer park. Her friend’s teasing words still jumbling around in her brain.

_Whatever, they don't know what they’re talking about. I DO NOT like Jughead!_

Her cheeks are warm and tingly as she huffs for the hundredth time in her car. She maneuvers her way down the pebbled path and searches for the Jones trailer. FP or Mrs. Jones would always pick up Jellybean from her house. So she realizes this is the first time she will be seeing where he lives. Her heartbeat pounds away rhythmically as she pulls into the driveway of his mobile home. She frowns and shakes her head, trying to clear her frazzled thoughts.

_Calm down! It's not a big deal coming over to his house. Just drop the stuff off, check in on him and wait for his family to come back. It’s just the same as dealing with him at school..except it’ll just be the two of us ...alone._

She grips the steering wheel tighter as a pool of warmth settles into her belly. Feeling frustrated at her own resolve for crumbling under the accusations that her thoughts have given her, she quickly exits the car before changing her mind and makes her way up the small flight of stairs to the trailer door.

Suddenly feeling self conscious thanks to Kevin’s rambles earlier, she glances down to her current attire. Cuffed baby blue jeans, a cream colored sweater, and her signature white keds.

It’s…._cute,_ Maybe not ‘sexy’ like a nurse with ‘knee-high socks’ would be, but she felt pretty damn good about it when she wore it this morning! Plus, why would it matter! It’s just like her friends said, Jughead likes her in anything she wears!

Wait..

Shaking the confused jitters out of her mind, she reaches a hand up to knock and….

Freezes on the spot. She feels dumb for being so nervous, she has no reason to be! So she tightens her fist and tries again. 

But she pulls away at the last second before it could come in contact with the metal door.

_Damnit!_

Dropping her head back to stare up into the night sky, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes to try and compose herself. She exhales, the chilled September air already forming puffs of smoke from her heated breath. Bringing her head back down, Betty faces the door once more. With her shoulders squared and her jaw set, she nods to herself before losing confidence again and reaches back up to cautiously knock onto the door. 

_*Tap, tap, tap*_

_tbc…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Fav parts? Let me know, thanks for reading!
> 
> -b


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty arrives at Jughead's trailer to take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your kind words and interest in my lil story! The next Chp is here! A few things i need to say:For the sake of enjoying this Fic, let's all pretend that a common cold can be cured fast LOL and that people can still look pretty hot and not at all gross. Sorry for any mistakes, but there's lots of laughs and some saucy bits ahead! Enjoy.

# Arrival

### 

Betty waits with bated breath for the door to swing open. The hairs on the back of her neck prickling up in anticipation. She waits..no response. Anxiously biting her lip, she knocks again, quicker and with a little more force this time. Hoping to god to just get this initial meet-and-greet over with! But again there is no response from the other side of the door. 

Letting out a sigh of relief she figures he must be asleep.

Maybe he will be ok on his own after all. Maybe she can just slip the medicine into his mailbox and text him that it's in there (because of course he sweet talked his way into getting her phone number) for whenever he wakes up. As she fishes around in one of the grocery bags to pull out the small box, another thought suddenly occurs to her. 

_What if he didn’t answer the door because he COULDN’T answer it? What if his cold is so bad, he’s fallen over from a fever? Knocking himself unconscious onto some sharp object or corner and bleeding out onto the floor??!_

Her mouth hangs open as wide eyes look back up to the door. 

“Jug??” She asks out loud. Nothing. Panic now starting to rise and take over any initial skittish nerves she had before, she throws caution to the wind and tries for the door handle.

It’s unlocked.

Betty lets herself quickly inside, her ponytail swishing about as she looks around the trailer. 

“Jughead??” Betty tries again and in her haste she almost misses a lump of blankets slowly moving up and down nestled deeply into the couch with tissues scattered about. 

He’s practically _buried_ in the comforter and she can just make out the top of his thick locks of hair (minus the beanie) as well as his high cheekbones. She drops her head. Feeling the need to reprimand herself for overreacting. 

_He’s fine. He WAS asleep._

Upon closer inspection she realizes one of his feets has peaked out from under the covers, twitching in his deep slumber. She cant help but chuckle softly at the sight. The big bad Serpent King looks pretty cute when he’s knocked out from a cold. 

_Wait, cute??_

But before Betty can think any further on it, a strong breeze blows in through the trailer and forcefully shuts the door on the way out. Causing them both to jump at the loud _slam!_ Jughead groans and starts to tossle about, making Betty now realize that she has, in fact, made it into Jughead Jones’ trailer. 

_Oh crap!_

Betty panics again as she stumbles about in place, trying to figure out what to do.

Should she let herself back out and try again? Hold her ground and face him? Or just drop the bags and hightail it the hell outta there? That last one sounds pretty good. But his groggy timbre voice locks her in place, much like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“Mom? Ugh...What took you so long?”

Betty blinks at him.

_...What?_

“Ugh, I said I was _dying_ you know? How could you leave your precious son like this?” 

A hand comes up to stifle the laugh from her mouth. No longer feeling panicked and now _quite_ amused. 

“S’not funny..” He says when a small snort escapes through her nose. He snuggles further into the couch, eyes having been shut the entire time he started talking to her. 

“You get the medicine?” Jughead asks sleepily. Her mouth is still covered and although he can't _see_ her (and she can’t help herself) she nods and responds with a muffled,

“MmmHmm.”

“Kay...Can you make Campbells?”

Her eyes are beginning to tear as she hides her smirks, her shoulders twitching from suppressed giggles. 

“MmmHmm.”

“Cool...Oh, Ma?” 

Her other hand comes up to cover the first, the grocery bags now hanging off her elbows. She’s desperately trying to quiet her laughs.

_Oh my god! This is gold!_

“And some tots.”

It’s all she can take as she releases her mouth and lets out an explosive laugh. Jughead quickly opens his eyes and scrambles up, looking over to the source of the voice that is most definitely _not_ his mother’s. His eyes widen in shock.

“B-Betty?!”

She’s clutching her sides, having dropped the bags and is hunched over as she continues to laugh. Gasping for breath and red faced. 

Jughead’s feeling utterly dumbfounded. His mouth is hanging slightly open and he briefly wonders if he’s dreaming. Or maybe hallucinating from his fever? But he would have _definitely_ imagined Betty in a different scenario (and with less clothes) and certainly not laughing _at_ him. 

But here she stands, giggling and fully clothed. So this has to be real.._Holy shit!_ Betty Cooper is in his trailer! With...groceries? His eyes narrow and brows furrow in even more confusion.

“Y-You..haha, oh my god, you thought I was your mom! Ahaha!” 

"_WAIT, WHAT!?_" Jughead says as his mouth hangs wide open and his eyes widened again in horror as his momentary joy of having her over, is quickly dispersed at the sudden realization of what he was just babbling to her, hits him. 

His face burns hot with embarrassment. It’s a sight Betty has never seen before and it makes her laugh even more, seeing him go red as a tomato. Jughead fumbles awkwardly to get out of his comforter cocoon and straightens up. 

“Well I-!..uh..W-what are you doing h-here?” Not that he _doesn’t_ want her over, but he can’t think of anything else to say. Betty straightens up as well, her laughter slowly dying as she wipes the tears from her eyes. 

“Your mother asked me to bring you some food and medicine. Um, Jellybean got hurt, broke her ankle, so your parents had to take her over to the hospital in Greendale.” 

Jughead’s eyebrows raise at the mention of his kid sister’s injury. But he relaxes when he hears that they went into the next town over.

“Oh, that’s good. Dr. Gettleman knows what he’s doing. She’ll be fine.” He says without any worry. 

Betty briefly wonders just how he knows, but quickly puts two and two together and concludes that Jughead and his gang must have had their fair share of sprained joints and broken bones and needed to get some emergency care. Speaking of care…

“Yeah, so,” She clears her throat awkwardly. “She also wanted me to help make sure that you’re uh..that you’re holding out ok.” Betty quietly says.

Jughead blinks at her for a moment and then looks around at his surroundings; balled up tissues _everywhere!_

_“Shit!”_

At the same time he starts to hastily reach for the mess, Betty finally takes notice that he’s in his _boxers!_ It’s now her turn to blush.

“Um, Jug?” 

Cradling a handful of tissues he looks up to her. She’s staring at a water spot on the kitchen ceiling.

“You’re um..” She makes a gesture towards him and he looks down.

_“Fuck!!”_ He hisses and drops all the tissues in an attempt to grab the blanket off the couch and cover himself. He’s feeling dizzy and out of breath. In ANY other situation this would be a dream come true. Having her over and showing off his pecs. But she caught him in his boxers (with little sheep dogs on them) and his snot covered tissues AND he’s pretty sure his hair is resembling that of a bird's nest. 

Not to mention his nose is all red and his voice is all gravelly. He’s an utter mess. This is NOT the image of the Serpent King. Of a leader of rebels. The guy who can make freshmen wet their pants with a glare, who's notorious for having adults step aside to let _him_ walk through. Who can quiet any room that he enters. He’s a man of respect! He’s a man to be feared! He’s...being laughed at again by Betty Cooper.

Betty shyly glances over to him, trying to suppress her laughs once more. She clears her throat and clasps her hands together, ready to face the next challenge.

“Well then, let’s clean up, shall we?”

Jughead feels like he’s ready to fall back into the couch so it can eat him up.

###### 

As Betty quietly stirs the pot of soup in the small kitchen, Jughead sits wrapped up in his thick comforter, with a sour look on his face. Changing into his grey sweats and one of his black ‘S’ t-shirts, he’s hardly paying any attention to the T.V. He’s too embarrassed to be enjoying his show right now. 

Betty glances over to him through the small opening and smiles. There’s still a hint of blush on his cheeks and his ruffled hair looks like it got even messier. No doubt from his frustrated attempts to try and smooth it over.

Turning her attention back to her cooking she allows herself to quietly admit that _ok, I guess he does look sorta cute right now. Especially with that grumpy scowl on his face._

Her giggles has Jughead turning his attention to her, his expression softening a bit. She’s looking so god damn cute right now, wearing that ruffled apron and cooking for him!

He’s about to open his mouth to try and say something clever like _What are you cooking, good looking?_ But the heavens hate him as he’s overcome with an onslaught of violent sneezes instead.

(At least it has Betty looking back over to him.)

“You need more tissues?” She teases as the sour look comes back onto his face and he wraps himself further into his downy fortress. He sniffles and stares hard at the television. Betty now sees why he loves to mess with her.

_This is fun!_

She pours the hot soup into a bowl and grabs the bottle of medicine off the counter and walks over to him.

“Here.” She settles the soup and medicine down next to the glass of water she gave him earlier. Jughead looks down at the bowl and frowns. 

“What is it?”

“Turmeric vegetable soup, it’ll help with your cold.”

He frowns further and shyly looks off to the side, a shade of pink dusting his cheeks.

“S’not Campbells.” He grumbles. Betty raises an eyebrow and smirks.

“You need ingredients that are going to boost your immune system. Not over processed, high sodium, _fake_ chicken concoctions stored away in tin cans.”_ And certainly no fried foods._

He bunches the blanket further up, stopping just under his stuffy nose. Betty sighs. 

“Jug, the sooner you eat, the sooner you can take your medicine and get better. You _want_ to get better don't you?” He looks back down and appears to be thinking it over. Maybe he’ll stop being childish for once.

“Feed it to me.”

Or not.

Betty looks him over with a deadpan face.

“Hey _you_ said you’d take care of me, help me recover! And it just so happens this cold has left me _very_ weak!” He says dramatically, mood instantly changing as he straightens up and lowers the covers, appearing as anything but.

“Maybe if you feed it to me, I can get better sooner. Then we can cuddle and enjoy the rest of the night to ourselves.” He wiggles his eyebrows for emphasis and the urge to whack him with the serving spoon is _veeeery_ tempting right now. 

“Jughead, just eat the damn soup." She says as she rubs her temples. "Besides, your family will be home soon I'm sure.”

Frowning again he sighs.

“Well, will you sit down at least? You’re not gonna stand there the whole time, are you?”

She shifts in place, shrugging a shoulder. 

“Well no, obviously not.”

“So take a seat.”

Betty contemplates it over for a moment before taking the apron off and slowly making her way to the far end of the couch, away from Jughead. 

“I meant here.” He opens up the covers and offers his lap, smirking as he does so. Betty grabs the small decor pillow by her side and throws it at him. He easily ducks, still smiling at her.

“Oh forget it!” Throwing her hands up, she begins to leave. “I’ll go sit in the kitchen.” Jughead reaches an arm out to her, laughing.

“No, ok I’m sorry. Don’t go sit by yourself. Please stay here.” She turns around and gives him a calculating look. Her mouth twisted to the side in annoyance.

“Stay.” He says gently. Looking at her with kind eyes (that begins to make her heart pound) and his joking smile replaced with a softer one. Betty mumbles a small _fine_ and sits back down onto the cushions. His smile spreads wider.

“There. Comfy?”

She looks off to the side, feeling vexed.

“I guess.” 

“Want this back?” He asks holding up the small pillow. With her lips in a pout, she simply reaches over to take it back. Jughead chuckles as he relaxes back into the couch.

###### 

About halfway into the evening, Betty realizes that Jughead has not touched his food at all, having succeeded in distracting her from eating it.

“Jug, your soup.”

He looks back down to it. The greenish-orange mush taunting him.

“Uh..you know I think I may actually be allergic to uh..this turmeric..whatever. So yea, probably best if I don't eat-”

“Jughead.”

“Can’t I just have-”

“No.”

“But-”

“Jug!”

Lowering his head in defeat he sighs.

“Fine. Could you heat it up?” 

Betty smiles victoriously, picking up the bowl to reheat it. If it makes her happy he’ll eat the damn stuff. He’ll complain about it the whole time though. She comes back with the newly reheated soup, and has even added some crackers to the side as she places it back down in front of him. 

Reluctantly picking up the spoon he begins to eat. Betty watches him carefully, quite surprised he can handle eating the hot soup right away.

“Well?...How is it?” 

He swallows and licks his lips before answering.

“Not terrible I guess.” 

_Another win!_

She scoots over to reach for the pill bottle and hands it over to him.

“Finish up and then take this. You’ll be better in no time.”

Jughead looks at her outstretched hand, noticing that she’s shifted closer. He places his spoon down and grabs the bottle, along with her hand, in his own.

Betty’s breath hitches at the contact. Warm and sending tingles down her arm. His hands are so much bigger than hers, she realizes. His long fingers look rough but they’re beautiful in their own way. Strong and yet soft. He’s got a firm grip on her and he’s looking straight into her eyes now. 

A heat is slowly rising to her cheeks. 

“J-Jug?”

She cant read his face. Although it is a little flushed, It’s soft, but guarded and his eyes have darken, shifting from her own, down to her lips and back up again. Betty’s caught in his stare as he begins to moves his head in closer to her, angling as it gets closer to her face. 

..Closer..

..Closer..

“HEY-YA JONESY, YA HOME?!” Sweet Pea’s loud voice calls out as he kicks open the trailer door with the rest of the Serpents loudly following after. 

“Yeah man! Heard ya got sick and we decided to pay you a special..home..visit...” 

Fangs’ voice slows to a halt as he and the other Serpents spot a _very_ red faced pair on the couch with wide eyes staring back at them. Sweet Pea immediately starts to smirk widely as Fangs has his own blush forming while Toni whistles and Joaquin brings a fist up to stifle a laugh. 

“Seems like Betty has already beaten us to the ‘special home visit’.” The blue-eyed Serpent chuckles and it brings Betty back to the reality of the situation as she smacks the pill bottle right into Jughead’s face. 

“Ow!”

“N-no! It’s not what it looks like!” She bolts up, hands waving frantically.

Sweet Pea can’t stop grinning like the Cheshire Cat and Fangs rubs the back of his head awkwardly, looking down. 

“We can come back later.”

“Or not at all.” Sweet Pea says cheekily. Betty feels like her head is spinning and her face is about ready to melt off. Jughead’s nursing a wounded eye as he stands up to address his fellow gang members.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?”

“It’s like Fangs said,” Joaquin answers cool and calmly. 

“We noticed you were absent from school and just figured you were having one of your ‘Emotional Betty Day’s.’’’

“A what?” She scrunches her face over to Jughead, who’s wide eyes read a warning of _‘Don't. You. Dare.’_

“But then we got word from Mustang who was told from Gator who overheard Peaches talking with Gladys over the phone that you got sick. So we came over to cheer you up. But we never would have guessed you’d have company over already.” 

Betty has to physically cover her cheeks to stop the color from getting any redder. She walks over towards the other side of the coffee table. 

“I'm only here as a favor for Mrs. Jones.” She brings her hands down to twiddle her fingers at her front, “ I came over to bring Jughead medicine.” Her voice is soft and quiet as she avoids their stares.

“And were you about to give it to him mouth-to-mouth?” 

“S-SHUT UP SWEET PEA! You know what? You guys can leave, that’s an order!” Jughead walks over to the tall Serpent, his face still red and begins to push him out.

“Damn Jonesy, this cold must be really something if that’s the best you can do to kick me out.” He laughs. Easily standing his ground against the sick flustered King.

“Fuck you! All of you, get out!” Jughead grabs Fangs’ jacket lapels and tries to pull him out as well.

“Haha! Sweets is right, you're totally weak right now!”

“I’ll show you weak!” 

Jughead growls as Sweet Pea slings an arm over him from behind, saving Fangs from having his face ripped off as he loudly exclaims.

“Calm down Jonesy! You just gotta take your medicine and then you’ll be allll better!” He readjusts his hold, practically putting him in a headlock. “Toni grab his legs! His _Majesty_ needs to sit down and relax.” 

Jughead struggles against their hold as they none-too-gently sit him down. Sweet Pea keeping a firm grip around his neck as Toni keeps his arms in check from scratching the tall Serpent’s eyes out. 

“Let go! You assholes!” Jughead chokes out through gritted teeth.

“Open up Jonesy! Take your meds!” He says as he lifts up the pill bottle from the floor.

Betty stares at the spectacle unravel before her with utter amazement. Completely stunned at the fact that the supposed ‘right-hand-man’ of the King of Serpents is trying to force feed him cold medicine. 

_At least he’ll be taking it. And I guess he wasn’t kidding about feeling weak._

She muses with a shrug of her shoulders. Fangs is pointing and laughing as Joaquin walks over to her with a kind smile.

“Hey Betty, how are you?”

“Hey Joaquin.” She shifts her feet in place. “I'm alright, I guess.” He chuckles.

“No hard feelings? I’m sorry if we upset you. We do like you, you know?”

Betty feels less timid as she sheepishly looks up at him. 

“Yeah, I know. It’s alright Joaquin, thanks.” 

He bumps her shoulder and motions for her to sit with him on the carpeted floor. “To get a better view of the show.” He grins and tells her. Betty can’t help her own smile from forming as she follows him and crosses her legs.

Poor Jughead is still struggling against his Southside pals. 

“So...I know you said you came over via a favor. But just between us, you were actually pretty worried about him right?” Joaquin asks over a hushed whisper. 

Betty picks at a loose thread in the carpet. Joaquin has always been the easiest to interact with amongst the Serpents. So she feels she can talk to him without being judged. Even if she is uncertain about her own feelings and what they could mean. 

“I guess...I just wanted to make sure he was ok. That someone would check up on him since he’d be alone tonight.”

“Yeah, we heard about JB as well. But don't worry, she’s a tough kid, much tougher than your boyfriend.”

Betty feels a small blush come up to her cheeks. She brings her knees up to lean and rest her chin on as she plays with her shoe laces. 

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She says quietly.

“Do you want him to be?” 

Betty hides her mouth against her knees. Her skin feels warm.

“I...I don't know.”

“Do you like him?”

She stares at her shoes. Her heartbeat pounding steadily.

“I don't _hate_ him.” Betty says carefully and Joaquin smiles at her defensive ploy.

“Ok, but do you like him, as a person?”

She stops and takes a minute to think it over, pondering at the thought. He’s loud, cocky, childish and a troublemaker. He constantly annoys her and is relentless when he flirts.

But does she like it? Does she like him? She had wished in the past that he would change his bad habits, but she’s become so accustomed to them now, she can’t possibly picture Jughead any other way. It’s who he is. And she supposes she does like _certain_ qualities about him.

He’s loyal, that’s a given. To her and his family and friends. He’s also surprisingly sweet and kind. Jughead only seems to show his softer side around her. He trusts her because he can be easily embarrassed despite his tough facade. And thus for her, making him likeable. 

“Yes..I do.” Betty says quietly as she wraps her arms under her legs. Joaquin softens his gaze at her own personal reflection.

“Do you think you could like him as anything more?”

“....I don’t know...” That seems to be a good enough answer for him right now, as he notices her ears are starting to match her face. 

“He does like you alot you know.”

“Gee, I didn’t notice.” Betty says sarcastically and it makes Joaquin laugh. She laughs as well. 

“You’re a good person Betty, Jug is too. I’m not sure if Im one to believe in ‘star-crossed lovers’ or ‘soulmates’ or something like that. But Jughead sure seems to. In fact, I think when it comes to the two of you, I believe anything is possible.”

Her round green eyes stare at him with such wonder. She turns her head back to Jughead, whose red face, messy hair and embarrassed scowl has her reveling in the simple fact that if a notorious ‘bad boy’, troublemaking, gang leader can be made to look so...vulnerable, then maybe anything _is_ possible. Including new budding feelings.

“Tell me one thing though.” Joaquin says which turns Betty’s attention back to him.

“I bet he tried asking you to feed him that soup, huh?” He grins and Betty feels her face heat up again. She looks away and coughs awkwardly to avoid his question as she continues watching the hilarity that’s taking place right before her very eyes. 

Fangs seems to have overheard them though, as he grabs the bowl of soup off the coffee table and excitingly says

“Oh! Soup? Here, King! Let **us** feed you!”

Jughead is wrestling to get out of Sweet Pea and Toni’s hold as he barks back.

“Hell no! Get the fuck away from me!”

“C’mon _Juggie_ eat your veggies!”

“Sweet Pea if you and Toni dont let go _right_ now-!”

“Fangs, hurry up! I got a good hold on him!”

Sweet Pea is grinning wildly as Fangs rushes over, but his foot gets caught on the leg of the coffee table and trips.

Betty _swears_ time has stopped. Jughead, Sweet Pea and Toni all freeze in place with wide eyes as Fangs (with equally wide eyes) is extending over the table with one leg in the air, outstretched arms and the bowl of hot soup that _was_ in his hands, is now in direct path of Jughead’s face. 

A cat, scavenging for scraps outside, yowls and scurries off as Jughead’s scream can be heard reverberating within the trailer walls.

###### 

“See ya Betty, it’s been fun.” Joaquin waves off as he follows Toni and Fangs (who’s nursing a growing lump on his head) out the door. 

“Yea, we should split before Jug can do any real damage. If you ask me, Fangs got off real lucky.” Sweet Pea chuckles. 

Betty laughs nervously from her new spot in the small kitchen, having cleaned up the messy bowl. (Thankfully none of it got on the couch.)

“Take care of his bruised ego now too, will ya?” He grins and winks at her before closing the door behind him. She stares after him with a growing warmth on her cheeks. Trying not to let any hidden meaning in his words get to her.

“Those idiots finally gone?”

Betty feels a steam of warmth tickle her back and turns around. Her eyes widen comically at the sight before her. 

_OH MY GOD!_

A _very_ wet, half naked Jughead Jones stands before her, wrapped in nothing but a towel.

He’s gripping the grey towel wrapped dangerously low on the ‘V’ of his hips as he props himself with an arm above his head against the door frame that leads further into the other side of the trailer.

Betty’s eyes follow the trickles of water slowly cascading down his abdomen, through a trail of dark hair that disappears below his waist. 

“J-Jug!” She brings her outstretched hands up to cover the view as she looks away, blushing furiously. Her heartbeat going into overdrive. He’s got a look an annoyed look on his face as he stares at the door, and only answers her with a simple grunt. 

“PUT ON SOME CLOTHES! You want to get worse?! Plus, you’re dripping water EVERYWHERE!”

At that he brings his frowned face down to look at the floor. A puddle slowly forming. 

“Oh. Oops.” He simply says. 

“_‘Oops’_?? You’re making A MESS! And you’re going to catch pneumonia if you don't dry off!”

He looks back up to her, a cunning smile now forming on his face.

“Wanna help me with that?”

Betty lets out an exasperated noise as she grabs a dish towel and flings it at his face before storming off into the living room. 

He chuckles softly as he pulls the towel off his head, dumping it onto the small kitchen table before retreating back towards his room.

###### 

Betty is _trying_ to pay attention to whatever show is on the t.v. But her racing heart is too distracting. 

_Calm down! Calm down!_

She’s trying not to let her mind wander back to the way Jughead towered over her with thick wet locks sticking to his face.

The definition of his biceps as his muscles flexed when he leaned against the door frame. How his skin glowed from the dewey blanket of water on his lithe frame. The heat, radiating off his body from the warm shower. Her eyes scanning the beauty marks scattered across his skin, as if she were trying to connect the dots, and of course the very prominent dip in his hips..

_CALM DOWN!_

Her thighs squeeze together tightly at the thought. The crease was sculpted beautifully into his pelvis. Shamelessly leaving her wanting to reach out and trace a delicate finger into his skin. Following the curve downwards, down..down..

Betty shakes her head and clenches her fists as she squirms uncomfortably on the couch. Feeling confused and hot all over. The sound of Jughead emerging into the room has her jumping in place as she looks over to him. He’s furiously drying off his hair and although he has put on a new pair of sweatpants, he’s still shirtless as he steps onto the carpeted floor. To which she realizes he’s barefoot as well. 

She’s trying not to stare at his arms and chest (and _definitely_ isn’t trailing her eyes downwards towards his hips) as she speaks out. 

“Do you not own more than one pair of shirts?”

He wrings and holds the towel around his neck, smiling at her.

“And what? Deprive you of all this?” He lets go of the towel and gestures with his hands towards his torso as Betty silently curses at herself for following his movements. She scoffs and turns away, nervously tapping a finger on her knee.

He laughs and strolls over to the other side of the trailer, where she notices a laundry bag has been tucked away into a corner. He pulls out a clean shirt and Betty _most certainly_ is not watching him pull it down over his abs and that damn trail of hair. 

Betty swallows thickly and looks back towards the front.

He swiftly disposes of the wet towel and plops himself down onto the couch next to her with a contented sigh. 

Betty suddenly feels hyper aware of the goosebumps rising on her skin. She’s feeling _very_ nervous all of a sudden.

It probably has nothing to do with the fact that a freshly showered and very good smelling Jughead Jones is sitting dangerously close to her. Who, despite looking a little red in the nose still, seems to be quite relaxed, given the nature of the way he is sitting; legs spread open and arms resting comfortably over the back of the couch. He’s just an inch shy from wrapping her up next to him. 

(Not that she _wants_ him to!)

Her legs clench tighty again and there’s a warmth spreading in her body. Her hands, still firmly closed atop her knees as her shoulders tense up towards her neck. Jughead’s gaze shifts over to her away from the television. He props his right elbow onto the arm rest and rests his cheek onto his knuckles, looking at her with a sideways glance.

“You good?” He asks smugly.

Betty glares at him from under her lashes.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Cuz you look...tense.”

“I’m not.”

Jughead bites his lip and looks back.

“Alright. If you say so.”

_…..Wow, that’s it? I was expecting more._

Betty is quite surprised that he gave up so quickly-

“But if you _were_, I am offering a limited time deal with these bad boys.” He says as he wiggles his fingers. 

_Ah..there it is._

She rolls her eyes.

“Jug I’m fine, Plus you should be worrying about yourself. Did you even take your medicine?”

He frowns and rests his head back onto his knuckles, glancing back to the show.

“Tch! Yea, with Sweets and Toni’s ‘help’.”

Betty bites down her smile and relaxes her shoulders. She turns her head back to watch the rest of the show with him. 

_ Good. Now I just wait for his mom and then I can leave._

“Wait.” Jughead says, looking over to her to grab her attention.

“You wont get sick too, right?” It’s not that he wants her to leave, he just doesn’t want her to catch his cold. Although it’s a bit late to worry about that now since she’s been in his trailer for a while already. (And never mind that he did try to do….. _something_ earlier.)

She’s trying not to think about it and instead smirks at him and proudly says,

“Jug, I have an _impeccable_ immune system. There’s no way this’ll affect me.” He raises an eyebrow at her confidence.

“I’ve taken care of much worse, believe me. Veronica _and_ Kevin, once in the same day.” She boasts.

“Wow.” He teases. Betty gives him a look.

“It’s because unlike ‘some’ people, I eat my fruits and vegetables to keep myself strong and healthy.”

“Hey I ate like, half of that! It’s not my fault if the rest of it landed on my face.” He pouts. Betty bites her smile again.

“And in your hair.” She adds.

He turns away from her and groans. “There were chunks, Betty, _chunks!_” At that she giggles and he laughs too.

“At least It doesn’t smell like that tumeric-whatever anymore.”

“No, it smells good again.” Betty says and quickly turns her head to avoid his toothy grin.

“_Ohhhh_? You saying you like the way I smell?”

“Uh! No.”

(_Maybe_)

Jughead leans in to her and Betty feels her face get hot.

__

“C’mon, just admit it.”

“Jughead.” She warns, scooching into the couch cushions to get away from him as she blinks up at his approaching face with her round eyes. His arms are blocking her in. One behind her head on the couch and the other outstretched on her left side. His face is getting awfully close again...

“Just admit this one little thing and I’ll back off.”

That damn smirk of his makes her want to reach up and slap him! How is he able to act all cool and confident again? He’s supposed to be sick! So with a huff she says,

“....It’s not...terrible, I guess.”

His mouth twists up at the use of his words from earlier in the evening.

“See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” His voice is low..sultry almost. Betty feels that pool of warmth between her legs again.

“I suppose not.” She says mockingly and looks away from his heated gaze and ducks in her chin, her cheeks still warm.

_He’s too close!_

Betty shuts her eyes as he moves in to softly whisper in her ear,

“_For the record Betts, I’ve always loved your scent._”

She lets out a soft breath, flushing heavily at the soft contact his warm breath makes. Just hearing him mention the word ‘love’ makes her feel all kinds of things that tingle and rush through her.

True to his word, Jughead pulls back smiling and starts to get up from the couch.

“W-Where are you going?” Betty asks cautiously.

“Craving something sweet.” He winks before going into the kitchen. She narrows her eyes at him, her nerves slowly calming down although her heart is still pounding.

“You’re not gonna get like...candy or ice cream or something for your cold are you?”

Jughead opens the fridge and ducks down into it for a moment before coming back up and showing off the apple in his hand.

“Thought I’d follow your example.” He smiles at her.

“Oh..Well, good.” Jughead comes back over to the couch and sits back next to her. Loudly biting into his treat. Betty can't help but notice the aroma in the room smells sweeter then before. She muses it must be because of the apple. 

###### 

After another bowl of soup and a small sandwich for herself, Betty’s phone pings from her back pocket and she pulls it out to see a text from _Mrs. Jones!_ Finally!

“It’s your mom.” She says pleased. Jughead looks at her a little dejected, wondering if that means it’s her cue to leave already.

“Updates on Jelly?”

“Yea.” She scans the text and reads it to him out loud.

“ ‘Saw the doctor, waiting for JB to wake up from surgery...not sure when I’ll be back....possibly late..’ “ She says the last part dishartingly. It’s already pretty late, how much later will it be? She doesn’t want to look over at Jughead whom she knows is probably thrilled at his mother being delayed and is scheming something up.

“Late huh? Oh man, what a bummer.” He drawls.

“Jughead don’t start-”

“And it’s already so late too!” (what is he, a mind reader??) “At this point, you may as well just stay over.” He grins. Betty glares at him.

“Jughead she said she will be coming back ‘_later_’ not that she _isn’t_ coming back ‘_at all’_.”

“Yea, but it could turn into that. And I don’t know about you but,” He exaggerates a yawn. “I’m _pretty_ tired. Let’s take a nap together.” Betty rolls her eyes.

“If you’re tired then just go to your room. I’ll wait here for your mom to come back.”

“My bed is comfier though.” She’s _going_ to hit him. She will do it!

Betty shakes her head and gets up to go get a glass of water. She needs to rehydrate. As she’s taking taking a sip she hears another _ping!_ and pulls out her phone desperately hoping that he’s mother is on the way back. She opens the message and it reads:

_**Hey hon, JB’s got a slight fever from the meds and they want to keep her over for the night to make sure it doesn’t get any worse and so that she can recover from surgery. Looks like FP and I will be staying with her. Most likely won't be back till Monday morning.**_

Betty’s eyes widen.

_What!_

Another ping.

_**Stay and take care of Jughead till then, yea? I owe you big time. See you kids Monday, be safe!**_😄😜

Betty’s mouth hangs open as she stares at the words in utter shock.

_She wants me to STAY with Jughead?? For THE WHOLE WEEKEND?!?_

Oh no, no, no! She _cannot_ take care of him for that long. It was only supposed to be for a few hours! She’ll make something up! He’ll be fine. He has his meds and his soup. Hell, he can even eat the damn tots for all she cares! There’s no way she’s gonna take care of him-

“Till Monday, huh?”

Betty jumps out of her thoughts to turn her head and see that Jughead has sneaked up from behind to glance over her and read the text for himself.

_OH SHIT!_

He pockets his hands and leans onto the counter with possibly the _biggest_ smirk she’s seen on him yet. She’s blushing furiously and is at a total loss for words. He winks at her and she glances away.

“Guess you’ll be staying the night after all.” He says.

_tbc…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Disclaimer-  
I have no idea if Campbells really is processed fake chicken or not. But i needed to throw it under the bus. Sorry not sorry. And I have no idea how surgery/recovery works, esp for a broken ankle. So sorry if it that part seemed unlikely! Also, what’s an Emotional Betty Day? Why its a day where you are overcome with SO much emotion for Betty Cooper it physically pains you. You become bedridden, tightly holding onto a pillow and whining ‘Bettyyyy’ while your mom yells at you to shut up.
> 
> -b


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty is asked to stay the weekened with Jughead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! *Originally* i was actually going to have Betty go back home so we that we could have a pretty funny scene with V and Kev in the morning before returning back to Jughead over a compromise. But I felt like alot of you were anticipating having her stay over and in the end I didn't want to disappoint so I had to re-write EVERYTHING y'all! The good thing is, the morning scene will still be included AND you guys get Betty sleeping over! So enjoy! In the end I'm actually really happy with this change as I came up with some fun sexy little scenes. So a special shout out to 
> 
> *megs* 
> 
> and
> 
> *Fabulousbookworm*
> 
> to whom I thought about and had decided to reconsider and have Betty stay over after all, so give them thanks! 😄😁
> 
> One last thing, I'm sorry if this chapter feels like theres less scenes but I swear it's about the same word count as the previous ones. Also Ive been wanting to name my chapters but couldn't think of any in the beginning but I finally came up with some and I think I have an idea of how many chapters this story will be overall, but I won't say yet until I'm like 100% sure.  
Sorry for mistakes! I'm posting this at like 12 at night.

# Staying Over

### 

Betty ducks her head and swiftly passes Jughead from the kitchen into the living room, gathering their plates and cleaning up any leftover mess.

“Don't worry about that Betts, you can leave it for tomorrow.”

“There’s no ‘tomorrow’ Jughead. Your mom asked me to help take care of you for a few hours and that’s what I did.”

“And now she’s asked you to stay with me.” He replies, flashing her a toothy grin as he leans against the fridge wall with his hands still pocketed. 

“No. Out of the question.” 

“You’re going to defy an adult? You, Betty Cooper?” He teases and she glares up at him and his red nose as she walks back into the kitchen to dispose of the dirty dishes and hastily begins to wash them, ignoring his question.

“It’s not like you. Gladys will be **so** _disappointed_.” 

Betty frowns hard into the sink. She _hates_ disappointing anyone, especially adults, because she likes to prove to them that she can do any task given to her with precision and loves the praise she gets. She strives to show off how flawless she can be. A perk (and a curse right now) of the self proclaimed perfectionist she likes to think of herself as. 

Jughead can see her struggling with herself, and although he does feel a little bad, he really doesn’t want her to go, so he presses on.

“This will be a first, no? Letting someone down?”

Betty practically whimpers at the notion. 

“Course it doesn’t _have_ to be that way.” He carefully says as he strolls up behind her. Betty’s hard frown is slowly being replaced with a worried pout. 

“Just stay and Gladys will be _so happy_ she could **count** on Betty Cooper. She’ll gossip about you at her poker nights you know? Probably even gloat about your soup.”

Her eyebrows raise a little at that. She likes it when adults fawn over her cooking. 

“And all you gotta do is just stay. Simple as that.” 

Betty bites her lip and weighs her options. On the one hand, she does not want to fail, on the other, she's not sure she can handle Jughead for the entire weekend. Although she _has_ been holding up pretty well so far and she **does** want the older Jones woman to tell all the other mom friends about her food. It might be doable...

“And then we can go make out in my room.”

Then again, maybe not.

“Ugh! Jughead, enough! I’ve made up my mind, I’m going home.” Turning around, having discarded the dishes, she moves past him again to grab her keys off the counter.

“Aw c’mon. I’ve got a big bed.” He offers cheekily. “It’s warm.” (her face is what’s warm!) 

Huffing and ignoring him, she gathers up the rest of her things off the coffee table.

“We can snuggle.”

“No thanks, I’ll catch your cold.”

“I thought you didn’t catch colds with your ‘impeccable’ health.” He teasingly mocks. She purses her lips and glares at him. 

“Yeah! Well ...Shut up!”

His shoulders shake as he laughs, then rushes over to beat her to the front door, blocking her path. Betty sighs.

“Jug, c’mon it’s late.”

“All the more reason for you to stay.”

She looks up at him for a moment and he excitingly wonders if she’s considering it.

“Your nose is runny.”

Blushing and whispering _‘Shit’_ he turns away from her to wipe it with the hem of his white t-shirt.

_Gross, Jug!_

But it _did_ make him step out of the way, so Betty grabs the handle and gets ready to leave, but of course he holds onto the door before she could pull it all the way open.

“Jug!!” She whines. 

“Alright, alright.” He sighs. “At least let my mom know you can’t stay.”

Betty stares at him for a moment then exhales and pulls out her phone to text back Mrs. Jones. But as soon as she opens up the inbox to write back, Jughead snatches it out of her hands, and turns out the door, quickly shutting it behind him. Betty stares wide eyed and mouth agape.

“_JUGHEAD!!_” 

She rushes for the handle and pulls on it...but the door doesn’t budge. She lets out a small squeak and begins to bang on the door with her fist, desperately trying to fling it open with the other as she yells out,

“JUG!! Let go of the door!! Give me back my phone!”

Growling, she bangs and pulls and pounds away. Then she digs both of her feet into the carpet and tries to pull it open with two hands, leaning her body backwards. But it’s no use. He’s much stronger than her and she can hear her keyboard clicking away through the other side. She’s a little amazed that he’s able to text and effortlessly hold onto the handle with only one hand. But only a little.

Just as she’s about to plant her foot on the trailer wall for more leverage, the handle clicks and the door opens, making her arms flail about and lose her balance as she begins to fall backwards.

“AH!” 

An arm reaches out and grabs her before she could fall, pulling her body flush against a strong chest. Betty _‘oofs’_ against him with her closed fists and a squished nose before she pulls back and blinks up to a _very_ pleased looking Jughead Jones, leaning over her with one hand on her lower back and the other holding up her phone for her to read:

_ **No problem Mrs. Jones! I’ll be HAPPY to stay over the entire weekend and take care of your precious son, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. You can count on me, Betty Cooper!**_ 😁 

Betty scrunches her nose and scoffs, snatching it out of his hand.

“I don’t refer to myself in third person Jughead! She’ll never believe this, it sounds nothing like me!” 

They both look down towards the phone when they hear an instant _ping!_

_ **Thanks Doll! You’re the best, I knew I could count on your help, I’ll even spread the word on how reliable you are 😄 Let me know if you need anything, thanks again.** _

Betty gasps and looks back up to Jughead, who’s smiling with his tongue out at her.

_Great! Now she's definitely counting on me to stay!_

Growling again as she looks back down towards her phone, Betty tries to rack her brain on how to fix the situation (but in all honesty it might be too late, given the way Mrs. Jones responded back.) when she suddenly remembers Jughead's got an arm wrapped around her as it pulls her even closer towards his warm body, squishing her phone in between them. Her heart immediately pounds and her face flushes up at him with wide eyes.

She’s never hugged a boy like this before, in fact, the only men she’s ever hugged are her father and some very few male relatives, and Kevin. But she doesn’t feel like he really counts because he’s like a brother to her, so technically, this is the first time a boy _other than_ her family has hugged her. 

Betty exhales quietly as the new feelings and emotions run through her. Jughead’s so tall, it might be a little overwhelming for some to look up at him, but not for her, never. In fact, she’s feeling strangely secured right now. Like he can easily shield her, keep her out of harm’s way. Protect her and keep her safe if she never leaves his arms.

Of which she can’t help but notice and glance at again, being so close to him now, she can really take a look, not like when she had bashfully scanned at his half naked state from earlier in the evening. 

Despite wearing a leather jacket all the time, he really does have a natural glow to his skin. It looks warmer now, without the drops of water to glisten on it but still looks soft and smooth. And his muscles have definitely built up over the years, no doubt from play fighting (and actual fighting) and riding and hauling his motorcycle around. Plus she’s sure he only dabbled in the weight lifting class to try and impress her.

The results of which are obvious; the sleeves of his shirt fit snugged on his biceps even as he stands there relaxed, holding on to her. Betty gulps and looks away, but being so close in proximity to him, she has nothing else to look at but directly at his chest. Broad and wide, with enough space for her to lay her hands and head on...

Betty pulls her head back to try and get _that_ idea out of her mind and to get further away from his chest, but she realizes that the action causes her to press _her_ chest closer up against him.

She gasps a little at the feel of her breasts being flushed against Jughead. A feeling she’s never experienced before as it sends electric shocks throughout her veins. And although she’s wearing a sweater, she feels like her chest is blushing brightly along with her face, as it rises up and down at the new sensation, absentmindedly pressing herself closer to him to feel more of the friction.

Jughead’s wearing an alluring smile as he wraps his other arm around her, linking his fingers together and boldly says,

“Should we go to bed now?”

It breaks Betty out of her steamy daze and she angrily blushes up at him. Then she reaches back to painfully pinch his hand.

“Ow!” He laughs as he lets her go and rubs the sore spot as she stomps off back into the kitchen with closed fists, one tightly around her phone.

“Damn babe, save the kinky stuff for the bedroom.” He teases. Betty whips back around with a finger pointing at him.

“_**Don't**_ call me that!” She scowls with her pink cheeks. He puts his hands up in defense and chuckles. Betty tries not to look at his arms and chest again as she turns back towards the sink and angrily places her phone down onto the counter so she can continue to finish washing the dishes. Hoping that the cool water and suds will distract her from how hot she’s feeling right now.

Unbeknownst to her though, Jughead’s own heart pounds away heavily at the phantom feel of her pressed and wrapped so closely to him and the way her eyes had practically drooled over his muscles. He decides he won’t tease her about that for tonight though, since he _did_ get what he wanted, as she IS staying over now. Plus she totally pressed her boobs against him! A double win for sure! He's definitely gonna store that memory away for later and secretly brag about it to Joaquin later tonight. He pockets his hands once more and retreats back into the living room with a wide satisfied smile.

###### 

Betty opens the creaky oven door to check on her chocolate cake. The color is looking good and should be ready soon, so she comes back up, closes the oven and turns towards the side counter to begin frosting her finished cupcakes. 

She’s been angrily stress baking for the past couple of hours, with the supplies she had originally bought for her sleepover, so as not to _kill_ Jughead for his sneaky little stunt. And to further distract her from her confused tingly feelings. He’s noticed of course and has been on his best behaviour since. Wrapped up in his covers and quietly watching T.V. with a smile and keeping himself out of her way. She looks at him through the opening as he sniffles through his stuffy nose. 

_So **not** cute! What was I thinking?_

She turns back down towards her cupcakes with a _‘hmph’_. He laughs at something on the television and it makes Betty glance back up to him. His messy hair flipping back, his adam's apple bobbing and his eyes crinkling at the corners. The warmhearted sound makes her heart pound a little quickly and she tentatively lets her shoulders relax a little.

…._Fine, still only a **little** cute. But im still mad at him!_

As she’s frosting her last cupcake, it finally occurs to her that she doesn’t even have any **clothes** to change into for tonight, much less stay the entire weekend over for. Groaning, she places her piping bag down and dusts off her flour covered hands onto her apron before she unties it and pulls it off. 

She picks up her keys and begins to head for the door. Jughead turns his head at the movement and quickly gets up, worridley asking her,

“Wait! Where are you going?” 

Betty gives him a tired look and sighs.

“Jug, relax. I just need to get some stuff at home and I’ll be back. I still have a cake in the oven after all.” She adds, hoping to calm him down.

He discards the blanket and comes up next to her with an anxious expression.

“Betty it’s late.” She rolls her eyes at him.

“Yeah, I know.”

“It’s not a good idea to drive around Southside at this time. My dad’s friends like to start racing each other around this hour.” 

She arches an eyebrow at him.

“Jug I’ll be fine.” She dismisses, she doesn’t have time for this, she needs a change of clothes and some toiletries if she's going to be _forced_ to stay the whole weekend with him.

“I’m a very good driver.” Then she reaches for the door handle, but he swiftly catches her hand to stop her. Betty looks up at him annoyed, clearly not wanting to play this game again. But then her expression softens when she sees him looking at her quite concerned.

“Betty, please. It’s not a good time to be driving out there. I’ll...lend you something.” He offers.

“And we have an extra toothbrush. Just, please, don’t go out there right now, not tonight.” He pleads. 

Betty doesn’t think she’s ever heard him be so serious before. His usually soft eyes are uneasy and his voice, despite being gravelly, is quiet and stern as he begs her to stay put. It puts a whole other new light on him that she never expected to see. 

He searches her eyes with a sad frown and she feels her resolve melt away at his troubled face. Sighing, she looks down to the side and quietly says in defeat,

“Fine Jug, I won’t go out.”

He smiles softly at her and squeezes her hand, which makes her face warm up a little and her heart skip a beat.

“I’ll go in the morning instead.” Betty says, as she continues to avoid his gaze.

“But you’ll come back right?” He gives her hand another squeeze and says with a grin. “You _did_ say you’d stay the weekend.”

She glares at him and replies,

“No, _you_ said I would.”

He chuckles softly and she looks off to the side once more as she pouts.

“Anyways, I don’t want to upset your mother so _yes_ I’ll come back.” She begrudgingly says, shyly glancing back at his smiling face.

“Come back first thing in the morning.” She cocks an eyebrow at his demand and if she could, she’d cross her arms, but he’s rubbing his thumb over her knuckles and it’s spreading this warmness throughout her hand and up towards her arm that doesn't necessarily make her want to pull away just yet for some reason. 

“I’ll come back around 11.” She says.

“Around 9.”

“At 10.”

“8 AM!”

“Jug! That’s not how that works.”

“Ok, 9 am then.”

Betty sighs heavily.

“Fine, whatever.”

“You promise?” His warm smile is making her feel like there’s a spotlight on her.

“Yes Jug.” She huffs out, her hand is starting to feel tingly within his now.

“Say it.” He teases.

She exhales.

“I _promise_ I’ll be back in the morning around 9.”

Jughead’s smile spreads and he says in a low voice,

“Good girl.”

Betty’s eyelids flutter wildly at him as her face gets extremely hot. Her heart pounds loudly in her now warm ears and she feels something warm pulse between her legs. She quickly turns her head away from him, her curly ponytail swishing and lightly hitting her red cheeks. _Now_ she’s ready to pull her hand away. 

Jughead bites his grinning lips at her reaction. (her flushed face is so fucking cute and sexy right now, he’s _definitely_ going to remember that as well for when he’s alone again.) Then he gently releases her hand and walks off towards his bedroom. 

Betty clutches her hand against her chest once he’s disappeared and turns her back away from him. Breathing heavily.

_ **‘Good girl’** _

His words echo in her head and her brows furrow in hot confusion.

_ **‘Good girl’** _

She absently scans the kitchen counter, trying to think of something else and not how weirdly tingly she feels right now, especially between her squirming legs. Jughead emerges back from his room and says,

“Here.” 

Betty lightly flinches before she turns around and is given some clothes and a toothbrush. Her blushing face is about to stutter out a ‘Thank you’ when she narrows her eyes at what she’s been given. It’s actually only one article of clothing which appears to be one of his old childhood t-shirts. No doubt _way_ too small to sleep in and will basically be a crop top on her. It's not the type of PJ’s she was expecting to get.

“What the hell is this?” She holds up the tiny shirt no longer feeling so flustered as her annoyance takes over. A smirk tugs at Jughead’s lips as he responds,

“What? It’s soft and cozy, practically my best shirt to sleep in.” He gloats.

“Yeah, for maybe when you were a kid!” She says as she waves the shirt around.

“Whatever, I’ll just borrow something of your mom’s.” She walks past him to head to the other room in the back.

“Oooh, yea that’s probably not gonna work out. See, she’s really anal about people going into her room and using her any of her stuff, especially her clothes.” Jughead says as he sucks his teeth. Betty turns back and scoffs at him, crossing her arms with the tshirt in hand.

“Right. And I suppose you’re also going to tell me that her bed is out of the question.”

He shrugs his shoulder with a lopsided smirk.

“The woman’s an odd germaphobe when it comes to her room and things, she’ll definitely know if someone’s been in there. But you know, we could share my be-”

“Don't. Jughead.” Betty warns, “I’m gonna sleep on the couch, and you better not bother me or wake me up.” She gives him a hard stare and he ‘crosses his heart’. 

Betty flings the t-shirt at him, which he catches with ease. She’ll just sleep in her clothes for the night then.

“Alright, well, it’s a pull out so I'll go do that for you.” He cracks a smile as he goes into the living room to set up her makeshift bed for the night. Betty turns back towards the oven to check on her cake and sees that the top has gotten burnt.

###### 

Once she salvages what she can of her chocolate cake, frosts it, and sets it aside with the rest of her finished baked goods, Betty decides _‘what the hell’_ and has one of her thickly frosted cupcakes, even if it is already late into the night.

She tells herself it’s because it's not often she’s able to sneak baked sweets at this hour, but it’s really probably more so due to the fact that she will have to go to sleep at some point in Jughead Jones adult-free trailer and she can’t calm her nerves.

_His bedroom is literally only a couple of feet away_ she thinks as she eyes the doorway leading to his room from her seat at the small kitchen table. It also doesn't help that her brain keeps wondering completely _useless_ things like; Is he a back or a side sleeper? Is he a pillow hugger? Does he snore? Does he sleep with a shirt on? Or does he actually shed down to nothing but his boxers like he was earlier when she first arrived at the trailer and it was not in fact because of his drowsy cold, that he was dressed that way?

Betty blushes as she slowly chews the bite of her cupcake, remembering the image of him in his boxers. She honestly didn’t mean to look down…_there,_ but she couldn’t help it if her eyes took a quick glance and had involuntarily looked right at his crotch! Plus seeing him half naked didn’t help keep her eyes off that area any better, not with his hips on display the way that they were, the literally V on his hips basically pointing downward to invite her eyes on where to look. And she couldn’t help but notice some...shapes. Nothing blatantly obvious but still, there was definitely something there. 

Betty chokes a little before thickly swallowing the fullness of her warm cheeks as she feels something flutter around in her stomach. Feeling too worked up to finish eating her confectionery treat, she places the cupcake down and tries to think of something else, but of course Jughead emerges into the small kitchen at that moment, having finished moving things around and fixing up the pullout bed. Betty tries not to notice that she’s almost practically at eye level with his crotch.

She coughs awkwardly into her fist and turns away from him as she wipes her mouth with a napkin. Jughead smiles down at her, taking note of her bashful state.

“Enjoying your treat?” He asks. She reminds herself to look up at his face and _not_ at his pelvis before clearing her throat to answer back with a simple,

“Yup.” 

Jughead’s cheek’s lift up as his grin spreads wider.

“How is it?” 

“Good.” Betty looks down at her half eaten cupcake, avoiding his toothy smile as she picks at a sprinkle. His eyes shift around her face, noticing something, and with a cunning smile he asks,

“Can I have a taste?” 

She glances back up at him for a second before shrugging her shoulders and offering a wave of her hand towards the cupcake.

“Sure, help yourself, but there’s new ones on the counter-” 

Betty stops and freezes when he places a hand on the back of her chair and leans down close to her face. He reaches forward with his other hand to swipe his thumb at the corner of her mouth, just barely grazing her bottom lip causing her to lightly gasp at his touch. 

His finger leaves tingles in its wake and she stares wide eyed into his intense hazed over blues as he cheekily smirks back at her.

As he pulls his hand away, Betty quickly sees that there’s a bit of frosting on his finger that she had clearly missed wiping off. She doesn’t realize she’s holding her breath until she follows his hand and he brings his thumb to his mouth. Then she quickly looks back into his eyes as he stares straight back and without breaking eye contact he licks the frosting off.

Her legs squeeze tightly and her face heats up. Jughead licks his lips and says in a low sensual voice,

“Delicious.”

A small breath escapes her, and something warm starts to spread within her, particularly between her thighs. Her chest constricts as her heart pounds away roughly. Pulling back and straightening himself up, Jughead continues to smirk at her as he wipes his lip and disappears into the hallway.

Betty blinks away rapidly, as if hoping it will erase the image of what just happened from her mind. But now her brain is thinking up even _more_ completely useless things like, the way his tongue flicked out and licked up the pad of his thumb, leaving her to subconsciously wonder what it would feel like on her skin…

Betty scratches the kitchen floor as she quickly gets up from her chair. She grabs her small plate and throws out the rest of her cupcake. No longer having an appetite for something so sweet as her body feels like it’s in the mood for something _else_ entirely but for what, she doesn’t want to stop and figure out.

So she distracts herself with scrubbing down the already clean kitchen counter and recites some equations in her head. Then she goes into the living room to wipe down the already spotless coffee table that’s been pushed to the side to make room for her bed for the night.

Jughead comes back out, still smiling at her nervous antics and breaks her concentration when he calls out,

“Ready for bed?”

Betty flinches and stops mid wipe. Her face heating up again and carefully turning back to glance at him. He holds back a laugh and lifts up some blankets to show. With her red cheeks she gives him a calculating glare, ready to scold whatever cocky remarks he might make, but he cuts her off by adding,

“I only meant that if **you** were ready, then these are for you. For the couch.” He clarifies as he walks over to hand her the sheets. Betty tentatively takes them from him. Trying to look anywhere else but his stupid smug face.

“Thank you.” She quietly says.

“You’re welcome. Don’t stay up too late now.” He jokes and winks before walking off towards his room. Betty exhales roughly through her nose and uses her annoyed nerves once again to call out,

“I’ll stay up however late I want.” He turns back and grins at her through the kitchen opening.

“Then you’ll be too tired to go back home in the morning, remember?” She opens her mouth to retaliate but realizes he has a point so instead she says,

“Well…**you** remember that you better not bother or wake me up! Otherwise I’ll stay home!” 

He gives her a two finger salute then crosses his heart again. Betty pouts her lips and swiftly nods her head.

“Alright, good.” Jughead chuckles at her.

“Goodnight Betts.” Her cheeks grow pink as she looks off to the side and shyly stutters out,

“...G-Goodnight.”

He smiles down at the floor as he saunters off towards his room. She’s not sure why she was suddenly feeling so bashful about saying ‘Goodnight’ to Jughead. She’s said it countless of times to her family and friends, it’s no big deal! Right?...

….Except that it is, because it really puts light into the situation that she’s _staying over_ his trailer for the night, for the rest of the weekend! And for some reason telling him ‘Goodnight’ feels quite...intimate. Not as intimate as when he swiped and licked that damn frosting off his thumb, sure, but certainly close in its own way.

Betty groans and ducks her head into the blankets as her mind is now replaying the scene in her head. Loudly exhaling she picks her head back up and drags her feet to go clean and wash up before bed.

###### 

Betty emerges into the trailer with groceries in her hands and calls out, 

“Jug, I’m back.” 

She walks over to the coffee table and places the bags down. She hears his footsteps approaching her from behind as she begins to pull out what she brought over but is startled when a pair of arms wrap themselves tightly around her.

“J-JUG!?” 

Betty looks back over her shoulder and up at him with shocked eyes. Her heart pounds away and when he leans his head down to her face, she nervously turns away from him as he whispers to her,

“I missed you.” 

Her cheeks begin to heat up and her heart beats even quicker as his hot breath tickles her ear. 

_What the HELL is he DOING!!? Did he break out in a crazed fever overnight??_

She squirms within his hold, reaching up and trying to free herself and ignore the way his arms feel under her touch and how perfectly she fits within them.

“Jug! W-what are you-?” 

His grip around her tightens and she stills her movements when he presses his nose into her hair.

“You were gone for so long, and I missed you so much.”

She realizes he doesn’t _sound_ sick anymore but he definitely still feels warm...although it could just be from his natural body temperature...Nevertheless, _her_ body certainly feels like it's warming up, along with all the gooseflesh rising and the hairs standing on end.

Betty shakes her head and says,

“What are you talking about? I was only gone for…” She turns her head away from him and narrows her eyes towards the floor.

  


_Wait a minute..How long **was** I gone for? Why can’t I remember?_

  


Staring off in confusion she tries to recount when she even woke up this morning, much less _left_ the trailer...and come to think of it, didn’t she already bring groceries over once already?

Her pondering is quickly interrupted though, when Jughead moves his head into the crook of her neck and softly nuzzles her skin with his nose, making her whole face turn red.

“JUG!” Betty squeaks out and tries again to break free out of his grip, but he holds her tighter against his chest and sighs contentedly into her neck. He’s never been _this_ bold before! His cold must be making him act out! She’s about to step on his foot as her last resort but she gasps and freezes again as his lips speak softly against her skin, practically kissing her.

“Didn’t you miss me?”

Her shoulders tense up and her ears have now become extremely warm, unsure if it’s from his hot breath just a moment ago or possibly from the blood rushing to them. Maybe both, but she can definitely feel and hear the pounding of her heart as he rests his lips on her neck.

“Well?” he quietly asks. Betty shyly scans the floor and stutters out,

“I-I said I would come back..”

He softly _tsk_’s against her skin and gently shakes his head, rubbing his lips on her neck which makes Betty gasp again tighten her grip on his arms.

“That’s not what I asked.” His voice is _definitely_ not nasally sounding anymore. It’s low and seductive and reverberates within her entire body as he holds her close. He seems to be waiting for an answer but she’s too flustered to answer clearly right now so she changes the subject.

“I-I don't have time for your questions, Jughead! I-I have to start cooking..”

“You already made food, remember?”

“Huh?”

  


_I did..?_

  


Betty stares off to the side trying to remember when.

“Right before you left, see?” He lifts and motions with his head towards the coffee table and sure enough there’s a plate of half eaten food on top. She scrunches her brows, having clearly forgotten. He lowers his head back into the juncture of her neck and says,

“You were so thoughtful, leaving me something to eat.”

Betty squirms against him again, his lips sending sparks and tingles that shoot straight down through her. And his arms just feel so strong and warm, and his chest feels strong and warm and so does his breath and…..everything is just too warm! It’s making her own skin burn up. He begins to lightly trail his nose and lips up her neck, making her shudder and gasp once more.

He reaches the back of her ear and applies just a bit of pressure there with his lips and says,

"Such a _good girl_." 

Betty whines as it instantly makes her knees feel weak, and had he not been holding onto her, she honestly thinks she would have fallen down. He chuckles softly and whispers,

“Of course I would have _much_ rather have eaten _you_ up this morning, instead.”

Betty lets out a shaky exhale and blushes hotly. Her body shakes from the shivers rushing through her and her legs squeeze tightly at his erotic words. She ducks her head away from him, into her shoulder and whimpers.

“J-Jug..”

He reaches his right hand up to her face and turns her back to look at him. He’s _definitely_ not looking sick anymore. Betty is aware that she’s begun to pant lightly as she looks up at his beautiful strong face with her glazed over eyes as he stares right back down at her with his own hot intensity. It sends a warm shiver down her spine and causes her trembling legs to shift even more tightly together. Then he angles his face in a little closer.

“Do you know why?”

Her brain is much too hazy to form words right now, so she can only shake her head in response. His hand turns and lifts her chin up and she barely has a moment to react as he bends down and gently bites her neck. Betty shuts her eyes and opens her mouth to loudly gasp at the sensation, causing her to jerk back against him. He grins and lightly licks up the small bruise before coming up and softly whispering,

“Because I already know how _delicious_ you are.” 

Betty pants and blinks her eyes open and looks back over to him, breaking free of his hold on her chin. The locks of hair over his face gently sway from her panting breath as he smirks down at her blushing face. His other hand comes up and swipes his thumb over her entire plush bottom lip, then brings it to his mouth to sensually lick as he stares straight at her.

Betty’s breath quickens and she bashfully looks away. She feels him chuckle behind her and he softly says,

“Weren’t you wondering about this? How my tongue would feel against you?”

She gasps and turns her head back over her shoulder to look at him.

“What?”

But she’s confused when her face comes in contact with a pillow.

  


_What the-?_

  


“Betty.”

Betty looks forward to see Jughead is now hovering over her, as she lays flat on what she assumes is his bed. Her round green eyes widen again as she stares up at him. He’s shirtless now, only in his grey sweats that hang low on his hips with his knees on either side of her denim legs, and his hands placed near her shoulders. She exhales up at him as her body starts to squirm and warm up again.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“W-wha-?” She shakes her head, utterly confused as to what’s happening but feeling goosebumps erupt all over her body as she glances over his naked torso. The V in his hips prominently stick out and taunt her and she has to ball her hands into fists so as not to reach out and touch him. When her eyes shamelessly begin to stray further down his pelvis, following his thick black curls of hair she glances back up to him.

He smiles warmly down at her and lowers his face close to her ear again. She nervously glances over his naked shoulder before shutting her eyes as he begins to say,

“I asked if you wanted me to run my tongue all over you?”

Her mouth opens up in a silent moan as she turns her head away from him. Blushing wildly and breathing heavily into his pillow. Her hands tightly fist his sheets and her thighs squirm more than ever as she feels a warmness spill between her legs, rubbing them together to desperately try and defuse the radiating pulse there but to no avail.

“Well, Betts?” He asks softly against her skin. She’s feeling so overwhelmed that she thinks he might actually be lightly kissing her neck now. Betty bites her lip and whimpers. He begins to trail up to her ear again when she swallows thickly and chokes out,

“I..I-”

“Do you want my tongue tasting you? Caressing you?” Her breasts heave as she pants under him. Trying to form words. “Licking you up?” His lips press close to her sensitive skin.

“J-Ju-”

“_Wiggling_ all around?” He brings his hot mouth right over her ear, “_Inside you?_”

Betty gasps herself awake and breathes heavily as she pants into the small couch pillow. 

_...ohmygod…_

Her brow is lightly sheened with sweat and her face feels flushed. Laying on her side, her eyes scan about her surroundings and she sees that she’s in the living room of Jughead’s trailer, _not_ his bedroom and that she’s laying on the pull out couch, _not_ his bed. She reaches over to her phone by her side and sees that it’s only just about to be 6:30 in the morning.

She exhales and relaxes her head back down onto the pillow. The morning sun creeps in through the blinds from the windows as dust floats within it. Betty takes a moment to calm her racing heart.

_Wha-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?? Did I just have a..a.._

(Her mind doesn’t even WANT to think of the word starting with an ‘S’ and ending with an ‘X’ much less the word rhyming with ‘chaotic’ although that’s how she would describe all the emotions she’s feeling within her right now.) 

_A…’**flashy**’ dream about JUGHEAD!?!_

Betty quietly whines into the pillow, refusing to believe it. But her strongly beating heart and hot wet skin is of certain indication that it did indeed happen.

_Oh my god…_

Her brows furrow tightly together as it all plays over again in her head.

_No, no, no!_

His voice in her ear, his lips against her neck..

_No, no, no! How am I even dreaming up something I’ve never felt before??_

His teeth nipping at her skin, the way she reacted to his words, (she tightly grips the pillow.) His _very dirty_ words..

_NO! STOP IT BRAIN!_

Her legs rub together as she shakes her head and groans into the pillow. It’s all still so vivid! Even the feeling of his arm wrapped around her. Although the familiar feeling of _that_ makes a little sense, since he did hug her late last night. But she can still clearly feel the weight and warmth of it as it tightly pulled her back against him like he did in her dream... much like it’s doing right now in fact. 

Betty’s eyes shoot wide open.

_WHAT-_

She quickly turns over and feels all of her breath leave her in an instant.

Looking up to the face of a young man with beauty marks scattered across it, messy black hair and a lightly snoring nose, he rests soundly with one arm tucked under his head and the other wrapped securely around her waist as it pulls her even closer again towards him.

Betty's mouth hangs slightly open and she feels like she’s been turned to stone as she tries to wrap her head around the question as to _why_...WHY is **Jughead Jones** lying on the couch, sleeping next to her!!?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_tbc…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another thing that I figured you guys might have been expecting were some actual 'hot' scenes to happen. But like I had mentioned to a fellow reader in the previous chapter, Betty is a stubborn girl in denial and I personally don't feel like she would give in to any urges/feelings that quickly w.o coming to terms and fully realizing them for herself first. BUT I didn't want to leave you guys empty handed so thus, she had a sex dream 😄🤭 Don't tell her that though. Her dream version of him is *probably* some foreshadowing of what Betty secretly WANTS him to do, but remember there is no smut tag...in THIS story at least. *hint hint*possibly*hint*
> 
> Anyways, one last thing before I go;  
The holidays are coming up so I may take longer then usual to update because work will most definitely be keeping me busy and tired. BUT I do in fact have the ending to this story already finished. I just need to work on the middle and then the buildup to it. So rest assured it is technically done, it just might take a while given the fact that I'll be busy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty wakes up to the first full day of staying with and taking care of Jughead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is here! Just in time for the holidays! xD lol
> 
> Hello fellow Bughead fans! hmm what does one call another bughead fan? 'Bugger's'? 'Buggie's?' Y'all my buggies now. *fist pump*👊 Work has been tiresome, but I pushed through to finish the next chapter! With the revision of chapter 3, changes had to be made for chapter 4 as well, so some days I literally just laid in bed contemplating how to work out certain scenes and dialogues. One particular scene had to be re-written at LEAST 4 times before I was FINALLY happy with it. So I hope you guys are excited! We get some more flirty Jug, bashful Betty AND, V and Kev make an appearance!  
Some good laughs and hopefully, moments that might make you squeal, lie ahead!
> 
> ~Enjoy!  
  


# Small Revelations

### 

After the initial shock, Betty's brain has more or less shut off. Slowly rebooting itself as it takes in the situation of what she’s woken up to; Jughead sleeping quietly next to her on the couch. He looks so _peaceful_, a sight she's never seen. Jughead's usually either scowling, laughing, or smirking. Her eyes flutter as they take in his sleeping face, now having the chance to look it over since he was hidden away in blankets yesterday evening. When his mouth slightly parts, no doubt due to his congested nose closing up, the soft exhale of his breath lightly fans over her cheeks and immediately her eyes glance at his pillowy lips. 

Her eyes widen and like a switch, her brain turns back on. All the breath that Betty seemed to have lost, comes back as she gasps.

“AHHHHH!”

Betty yelps and pulls away from Jughead, scrambling as far back as she can, which results in falling off the couch and landing on her back with her legs sticking straight up in the air.

“Wha-!?” A sleepy startled Jughead shoots up from the couch, momentarily confused as he looks around the room bleary eyed and rubs a hand over his face and through his hair. Betty fumbles to get up from the floor, blushing and breathing heavily as she looks over the couch at him.

“Damn...what time is it?” He sleepily asks and turns over to check his phone on the arm rest. 

Betty is all but ready to clobber him with her pillow when he turns his head and looks at her for a moment before smiling and says

“Goodmorning.”

She blinks at him.

“‘Goodmorning’?” Betty repeats quietly. “ ‘_Goodmorning!?!_’ JUGHEAD! What the HELL are you doing here!?” 

He begins with a sheepish smile.

“Well, see..”

“No! You know what? I don't want to hear it!” There’s _too_ much going on right now, her emotions are all over the place. Her body is hot and confused and embarrassed that she _dreamt_ of Jughead Jones! Gang leader of the Southside Serpents! And then that same boy had her wrapped up next to him and instead of being _angry_, as one should be, the first thing she thought about is how peaceful he looked??

“I’m going home!” Betty grabs her phone and gets up, still feeling flustered. She rounds the corner of the couch and heads for the front door.

“What? Wait! You promised!” Jughead gets up and stands in front of her. Betty huffs and points an accusing finger at his (nicely toned) chest.

“No, _you_ promised you wouldn’t do anything last night and you broke that! So I’m going home.”

“Ah, ah, ah.” Jughead holds his hands up to stop her from taking another step.

“We agreed that I wouldn’t ‘bother’ or ‘wake’ you up. And I _technically_ did neither. You slept the whole night unfazed.” He points out.

Betty hangs her mouth open and narrows her eyes at him. She can’t believe what she’s hearing! 

“Are you kidding me, Jug!? You slept in be-” Betty quickly catches herself before saying it out loud, her cheeks growing hot. 

“Y-You were next to me!” She stutters out instead. “That counts!” In the back of her mind she knows it doesn’t, but she just woke up next to a boy! She can’t be in the same room as him, especially considering her dream is still fresh in her mind.

Actually, it probably explains why she was having such a ‘weird’ dream in the first place, he was hugging her in her sleep! Totally has nothing to do with _her_ feelings, or the things _she_ was wondering about last night. Nope, it’s all thanks to him! Or, because of him..? Er...

Betty shakes her head.

“The deal is off! I’m going home.” She says again as she pushes past him, subconsciously realizing they were more or less standing in the same spot where he held her in her dream and it makes her skin heat up some more as she tries not to remember what he did shortly after.

“Betts, I swear I didn’t do anything and I didn’t _mean_ to end up on the couch.” He tries.

_Ha! Yeah right!_

“I _swear_ I was just checking up on you last night.”

She grabs for her things and her shoes. Jughead sighs. If she’s not going to stop and listen, then he will just have to reveal the ace up his sleeve. 

“Betts, _you_ were the one who called out to me last night.” 

Betty freezes just as she’s putting on her keds. Her heart pounds away frantically at what he just said to her.

“...W-what?” she quietly stutters, turning back wide eyed. Jughead’s giving her a secret smile.

“You’re making that up! I didn’t say anything!!”

“Oh no, it’s true,” He says.

“Yeah, see, I wasn’t sure I heard it right at first,” His tone quickly growing cocky as he continues.

“But you were definitely saying _my_ name.” He comes up to her, slowly backing her up against the trailer door. He tilts his head to the side, causing his messy locks to fall away from his face and hang. Betty’s cheeks burn as Jughead gives her a lopsided smile.

“What were you dreaming about Betts?”

Her heart beat goes into overdrive and (despite her best efforts) it all comes back to her, in _great_ detail. Steam practically rising out of her sweater from how hot she’s feeling right now.

“N-nothing! You must have heard wrong!” Betty blinks away. She squirms under his intense gaze, which doesn't seem to be letting up so she diverts him by saying.

“There’s no way, I-I don’t believe you..”

Jughead’s expression softens and he says,

“I would never lie to you.”

She bites her lip and stares off to the side. Maybe she's still dreaming? But she can clearly remember the events of last night, yesterday and even the week before, whereas she couldn’t remember the minor details in her dream that had apparently only taken place within a few hours. So what Jughead is telling her is the truth? That maybe when she was saying his name in her dream, she might have accidentally let it slip in her sleep..? Betty’s eyes swiftly look back at Jughead, who then gives her a shy but knowing smile.

_Shit!_

“So,” He continues, “Like I said, when I heard you call out for me, I came over and you were breathing kind of heavy, oh and groaning.” He adds.

_Oh god!_

“Naturally at first, I figured maybe it was a nightmare. But I remembered our promise so I couldn’t wake you up. So I just sat by the floor and hanged around.” He shrugs his shoulders. “And you know, quietly tried to reassure you the best that I could, _without_ bothering or waking you up.” He reminds her.

Betty can _actually_ picture it.

Jughead sitting on the floor, resting his arms on the pull out couch with his chin on top as he whispers soft _‘Shhh’_s at her restless body. The back of her mind also wants to point out (for some ungodly reason) that she wouldn't go as far as to call it a _nightmare_ per se...but...that’s not the point right now! The point is that he was just trying to comfort her, no, wait, the point is that he ended up on the couch! That’s right!

“Look, whatever you.._think_ you might have heard," Jughead grins, clearly knowing that he's right but her stubbornness won't give in that easily, not wanting to admit that she had actually called out to him in the middle of the night. "T-that doesn’t explain how you ended up next to me.” Betty says hesitantly, her face burning up. Jughead chuckles at her embarrassed state.

“Well it took a while until you started to settle down, by then I was growing pretty tired myself. I am still sick, you know?” He says smugly and sniffles on cue. Betty frowns and glares at him. Jughead laughs.

“Honestly Betty,” He says in a more serious tone. “The last thing I remember is dozing off _on the floor_, my body must have just subconsciously crawled into bed next to you.” 

Her heart skips a beat at hearing him mention being in bed with her and her damn brain remembers _that_ part of her dream now! Making her question again, why she’s feeling more so flustered, rather then full out angry with him. But her mind knows why. 

He didn't crawl in to be sneaky, he ended up on the couch because SHE kept him up and then his worn out body moved on it's own, not knowing any better. In the end, he wasn't being fresh, he just wanted to make sure that she was okay.

She supposes she should also deduce that it _wasn’t_ because he was next to her that she dreamt the things she did. Although...technically speaking, the reason for her troubled sleep _was_ because of him...so he kind of still is to blame...actually, it sort of just complicates things as it all just keeps coming back in a loop and when it starts to make her wonder _why_ he gets her all hot and bothered in the first place, Betty decides to just drop it all together, not fully wanting to get into that right now.

  


_He didn't have to stay up **all** night though. He could have just gone back to bed, especially since he IS still dealing with a cold._

  


But then Betty's mind argues with herself that there’s no way Jughead would have just left her, no matter how tired or sick he was feeling. Because of this, she thinks she may even be feeling a little bad about making him stay up, which probably adds to why she can’t be entirely angry at him. She knows without a doubt Jughead would always put her well being first before his own. 

Something about that realization tugs at her heart but she decides not to dwell on it. In the end, she figures she can forgive him. It's a new day, they can start off on a clean slate.

Jughead’s been quietly watching the thoughts and expressions run through her face, and when he sees her sport a look of what he surmises to be as ‘understanding’ he can’t help but decide to tease her a bit, now that he’s more or less 'in the clear' and had proven himself right.

“So Betty,” He says nonchalantly with an air of mischief in his voice. She turns her attention to him, knowing _that_ tone of his all too well and suddenly growing weary of what he’s going to say next.

“What _were_ you dreaming about?” 

Betty blushes heavily again. This tell tale sign confirms his suspicions now that she was NOT having a nightmare.

“I told you, it was nothing!” Her shoulders come up defensively, making his grin spread.

“Must have been something with the way you were tossing and turning about.”

“No!”

“You said my name.”

“N-no! You misheard!” 

“Was I in your dream, Betty?”

Scoffing, she turns away, her cheeks flaring.

“Y-you wish!”

Jughead continues to smile devilishly at her. She won’t look at him, so he places his hands on the trailer door, on either side of her shoulders to get her attention. It works because the action causes Betty to gasp and look back. This position feeling _all_ too familiar to her and making her heart thump roughly.

“C’mon now Betts, you can tell me.” She's not sure if his voice is being husky on it's own or if it's from his cold. Either way it's making her shiver and his clear blue eyes feel like they're pulling her in. 

“Well? Were you dreaming about me?”

“No! Who would?” Her eyes glance away from his approaching face. The closeness making her spine tingle. Jughead’s smile grows a little softer and he whispers,

“I dream about you, you know?” 

Her eyes widen, shooting back at him. A breath escapes her at the look he’s giving her right now. It reminds her of the way he stared at her in her dream. The hot gaze makes her tremble. Jughead smirks and leans in.

"Do you want to know, what about you exactly, that I dream of?" Her eyelids flutter at him.

"Well, Betty?"

She squeezes at the throb between her legs, unsure of what to say. A strange feeling of deja vu hitting her and just when she think's he's about to tell her, her phone's alarm goes off, making her flinch as she fumbles to pull it out of her back pocket and shut it off.

He bites back a laugh which makes Betty huff and break out of his barricade, moving back towards the pull out couch to get some air and ignore the growing warmth that she feels.

“Well?” he teases, "Don't you wanna know?"

“S-Shut up Jug." Betty closes her eyes and exhales, then checks the time. "I have to get going.” 

His smirk disappears and his eyebrows raise, he opens his mouth to argue, but Betty rolls her eyes and cuts him off.

“Here.” She simply says. Having procured her wallet, she takes her drivers license out before smacking it against his chest. Jughead stares at it for a moment before realizing the purpose of her action. Collateral. 

A cheeky smile spreads across his face that Betty ignores, feeling her own face heat up again. 

"So you're not mad anymore then, right?" He asks, knowing damn well that she’s not, even if she continues to avoid looking at him.

“Feel free to bring over whatever you want.” He tells her as she scans the floor and shifts her weight on her foot. Jughead's lips turn up at her antics.

“Maybe your own pillows too. Did you know that you snore?” He says with a grin. Betty falters, then quickly looks back up at him (there we go!) with her red face.

In hindsight she did not know that the small couch pillow was cheap, causing feathers to explode everywhere when she hits him with it.

  


  


Although Betty emerges from her bathroom freshly showered, she still feels _exhausted._ She can’t help but to flop down onto her fluffy pink comforter with a _sigh_ instead of getting ready. But she’s only going to lay for a minute, she’s got plenty of time before she needs to be back at Jughead’s trailer.

In light of everything that’s happened, she’s decided to just push any weird thoughts, feelings or dreams to the back of her mind. She’ll just deal with Jughead how she’s always been dealing with him before: ignore or think of something else.

She tiredly nods her head, rubbing her squished cheeks against her floral bedspread. The sunlight cascades in through her window and casts a warm glow into her bedroom, making her feel sleepy. She knows she should _really_ get up by now, but her bed is just so soft and cozy.

Grabbing her phone off the charger from her bedside table, she checks the time:

  


**7:20am**

  


Betty’s brows wrinkle, trying to calculate how much time she needs to get dressed, pack and head back over to Jughead’s trailer. But she keeps dozing off whenever she gets to ‘finish packing and then…’

She obviously can’t think right now.

_Just 5 minutes_

Too tired to even care that she’s still wrapped in only a towel she slowly closes her eyes, letting sleep take over her overworked mind and body, vaguely remembering Jughead’s voice.

  


_ **Be back by 9** _

  


  


The chiming pings from her phone sluggishly wakes Betty up. She somehow feels even _more_ tired now!

_Ugh...why..?_

She lifts her head up and sees a bit of drool had formed onto her pillow, then wipes the excess off her chin.

_Yech.._

She hopes she didn’t drool when Jughead-

Betty quickly stops _that_ thought from forming. She buries the memory and reaches for her phone. The first thing she notices is the time.

  


**7:45am**

  


She groans and scrunches her face. This was _not_ 5 minutes. The second thing she notices is that the messages are from Veronica.

(Prior to the start of arriving at Jughead’s trailer yesterday evening, Betty had given STRICT orders to Veronica and Kevin that they were NOT allowed to text her until the next day. She was not going to deal with any teasing that they were surely going to do that night.)

Betty groans again. She’ll just give the bare minimum and there is NO WAY she is going to mention Mrs. Jones’ new request of having her stay the rest of the weekend. Opening up her inbox, she scrolls back up to read the first text.

_**Goodmorning B! It’s the next day**_ 😁 _**Kevin and I are DYING to know how it went yesterday. Did you take good care of your patient?**_ 🤭

Betty frowns. On second thought, who says she needs to tell them anything? She reads the next text.

_ **And don’t think you can ignore me! I’ll be stopping by this morning to hear all about it.** _

“What...no.” Betty whines. Dropping her head back onto her pillow. But Betty is a problem solver. She can figure this out. She’ll just text Veronica that she’s busy today and can’t chat.

_*ping!*_

_ **I know what you’re thinking, don’t you even TRY to get out of it missy! See you sooooon.** _

Betty buries her head once more, then with all the energy she can muster she reluctantly gets up. Discarding her towel, she puts on a new pair of bra and panties and an old t-shirt, so she can quickly blow dry her hair. Betty begins to head back to her bathroom but stops short when she hears another ping from her phone. She looks back amazed.

“No way, she can’t be here that fast!” Betty reaches back for it and checks. It’s from Jughead actually…Her cheeks warm up a little and she pushes any thoughts or feelings away before opening his text.

_**You on the way back yet?**_ 😉

Betty lets out an exasperated sigh. She's cursing at herself for agreeing to come back so early and because her nap didn’t help at all, her tired brain absentmindedly writes back:

_ **We said at 9 Jughead. I’m still getting ready! I’m barely dressed.** _

Rubbing her eyes and face of sleep, she looks down at the instant ping of her phone.

_ **Fuck, that’s hot. Send me a pic.** _

Barely managing an eyeroll, Betty throws her phone down onto the mattress and begins to make her way over to her bathroom once again.

*_ping_*

Betty lets out a harsh breath and picks up her phone once more.

_ **Hey BBBBeeyotch, open the door we r outside LOL** _

Betty picks up her pillow and loudly groans into it before throwing both it and her phone back down. She ties up her hair, slips into some shorts and begins to head downstairs to begrudgingly let Veronica _AND_ Kevin, inside.

  


  


“Hey B!” Veronica’s chirpy voice makes Betty feel even _more_ tired if possible, as she steps aside to let her friends in. She notices a coffee and a small brown paper bag in Veronica’s hands.

“Hey V...Hey Kev.”

“Damn Betty, what kind of nursing tactics did you apply last night that has you looking so beat?” Kevin grins, holding a small brown bag of his own.

“Kevin, don't. It was just a long night, ok?” She's glad she showered and changed clothes. Otherwise it would raise suspicion.

“So, nothing happened?” Veronica asks carefully as they all make their way into the kitchen.

“_No._” Betty answers sternly. “I went over, gave him some food and medicine and that’s it.” 

_Actually Sweet Pea and Toni gave him the medicine, but whatever._

“That’s it?” Kevin repeats as he and Veronica situate themselves onto the counter bar stools.

“That’s it.”

“For the _whole_ night? You’re saying that you just fed him and that was it?”

“Yes.” She says while avoiding his stare.

“_Nothing_ at all happened between you two?”

She curses at herself for letting her face is warm up. She’s trying _reaallly_ hard to not think about the more ’detailed’ events from last night that she really rather not share. It’s too early for an interrogation AND for her body to be getting worked up. 

“Guys, just drop it, alright? Like I said, it was a long night and I’m just tired because I stayed up late waiting for a text from his mom.” It’s not a complete lie, but it’s also not the whole truth. Anyways, she's exhausted, so she really doesn’t care right now.

Her friends look at each other like they know there’s more to the story then what she’s telling them. So she glances away.

“_Okay_ B. We’ll let it go.” Veronica says. Kevin nods his head.

“For now.” He adds. Betty sighs heavily and rests her palms onto the kitchen counter, ducking her head in. Veronica takes the opportunity to change the subject and say,

“Anyways, we didn’t _just_ come over to talk, we came bearing gifts.” 

Veronica gently places down her brown bag before she dramatically hands over the large cup of coffee.

“Ta-da! This is actually for you.” Betty excitingly takes it.

_Oooo yes!_

“Thanks V.” Betty sighs contentedly. The sugary caffeine boost is exactly what she needs right now. Especially since she needs to figure out an excuse so she can start to get ready and head back over to Jughead’s trailer.

“This is for you too.” Kevin hands over his small bag and Betty places it onto the counter.

“Donuts?” She asks, taking a sip of her coffee and peeking inside.

“Condoms.”

Betty sputters and spits up her hazelnut cappuccino (_aw man!_) and rushes over to the sink to avoid spilling anymore onto the floor...and herself.

“_Kevin!”_ She turns around red faced. He’s laughing and holding his sides. Veronica walks over with an apologetic smile, and hands her over some napkins. 

“_These_ are the donuts.” Veronica says, having picked back up her small paper bag as she made her way over. Wiping her face, Betty glares daggers at Kevin to which he simply says,

“Betty, safety first.” In an obviously, nonchalant way. As if bringing a pack of rubbers over first thing in the morning is a normal everyday thing. Like having her cup of coffee for example. Or what’s left of it really.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re prepared.”

Shaking her head, Betty turns back to the sink to clean up the rest of the mess on her shirt, when suddenly she realizes.

_Wait a minute …’prepared’?_

Swiftly turning back around, she stares at the knowing smiles on both of her friends faces. Her mouth hangs open.

_Oh my god, they know!_

“Did Jughead text you?!” Veronica bites her lip and Kevin grins.

“Oh yeah.” He says.

Loudly scoffing, Betty stomps out of the kitchen and heads back upstairs to her room to change and start getting ready, no longer needing an excuse for her friends. They giggle as she disappears.

“That was hilarious.” 

“Now Kevin, we should really do some damage control otherwise she’ll never speak to us again.” Veronica says as she pulls out another, smaller, cup of coffee out of her designer bag and places it onto the counter next to the actual donuts for Betty.

“Fair enough.” He agrees as they both head after the flustered blonde.

  


  


“Betty, why are you packing cleaning supplies and a _vacuum_ instead of some sexy lingerie?” 

“Because _Kevin_,” (She’s still mad about the coffee and condoms.) “I need Jughead to get over his cold as soon as possible so I don't have to stay over any longer than I have to.”

Betty found out that Jughead had only told them about her staying over the weekend, and nothing more, thankfully. Of course that didn’t stop them from trying to pry anything else out of her. However, if her flushed face and stuttering words were any indication that something _did_ happen, she just kept denying any of it.

“So,” Betty continues, “I'm going to do a deep cleaning of his trailer to get rid of any germs and freshen it up.” 

“Oh...Ooh! You’re gonna be playing maid now!” He says excitedly.

Betty narrows her eyes at him and continues to finish packing up some supplies in her tote. He frowns and mumbles quietly to himself,

“You could have at least packed some knee-high socks.”

“You know I think I have yet to be a maid so far. I definitely have to do that with Archie as my butler this year.” Veronica says thoughtfully. Betty ignores her friends as she turns around to start packing some food for the day into another bag. When she turns back she catches Kevin suspiciously close to her shopping tote with the supplies. 

“What?” He innocently asks. 

She glares at him, wondering what he’s up to. But before she can say anything, he beats her by asking,

“Are you wearing..._gloss?_"

__

Betty’s cheeks lightly blush as she walks back over to her tote, placing the groceries next to it.

__

“Yeah, so? I always wear gloss.”

__

“No, no. You always wear lip _balm_. Tinted sometimes, sure, but not lip _gloss_...you’re dressing up for Jughead!” He gasps. Veronica squints her eyes to get a better look at Betty, whom ducks her head around.

__

“Oh my god, you are! This is so exciting!” She rapidly claps her manicured hands.

__

“Guys! Knock it off! It’s not like I’ve never worn lip gloss before!”

__

“What flavor is it? Cherry? Vanilla?” Kevin asks.

__

“Strawberry.” Veronica says knowingly. Betty’s annoyance with them puts her lips into a hard line. (and not just to hide them away) What’s wrong with wanting to put on some gloss?? It’s not like she _briefly_ thought about Jughead when she glanced at it on her vanity when she was getting ready, no way, she wore it for herself.

__

“I don’t have time for this. I have to go.” 

__

“To go kiss Jughead.” Kevin says teasingly.

__

_Ignore him Betty!_

__

“Plus you’ve broken out your best sweater. You’re trying to seduce him.” He says.

__

Betty scrunches her nose and looks down at herself; fuschia sweater with a white jeweled collar, dark blue jeans, and her nude ballet flats. What’s wrong with putting on nice clothes?? It’s not like she picked this out because she was feeling bland the other day. And it _certainly_ has nothing to do with Jughead’s taste, waaaay in the back of her mind. She chose this outfit for herself. 

__

Picking her head back up, Betty argues back,

__

“_No_, this is my _favorite_ sweater, which you both know I like to wear a lot.”

__

“_Yeah, when she’s around Jughead_.” Kevin leaned over to whisper to Veronica who starts to giggle.

__

Betty practically growls as she walks past them with her shoppers in hand and the cordless lightweight vacuum under her arm. Her duffle, already packed and ready in the car. She calls back over her shoulder to say, 

__

“Let yourselves out.” 

__

Stepping into her car and shutting the door closed, she briefly checks herself in the mirror, glancing at her shiny pouty lips. Her ears grow warm as she wonders how Veronica guessed right (not that it really matters!) and pulls out of her driveway, making her way back to the trailer park.

  


  


Betty arrives back around 9:30, thanks to Kevin and Veronica’s visit. She’s feeling a little annoyed with herself for not coming back on time, but it’s gotta be because she’s always so punctual and NOT because of the promise she made to Jughead.

After parking the car in front of the Jones’ trailer, Betty makes her way up the small wooden steps with the heavy shoppers in hand, the cordless vacuum under her arm and her small duffle over her shoulder. She gets the feeling of deja vu again as she looks up at the metal trailer door.

Her ears warm up once more when she realizes that _this_ time, Jughead will actually answer the door and she’s not sure what kind of reaction to expect. She sighs at herself for feeling so nervous again. Remembering to just ignore these feelings she swallows her nerves and moves to knock.

Except that both of her hands are indisposed.

Groaning, she hangs her head before picking it back up. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and calls out:

“Jughead!”

Her cheeks go pink as she hears shuffling and movement from inside. Wide green eyes scan the door where she knows where his face will appear. The door opens and Jughead looks at her puzzled for a moment, then breaks out into a smile as he crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe.

He’s changed into some new dark sweats and a light grey, long sleeved henley shirt. (which of course he just _had_ to push the sleeves up to show off his forearms)

“Hey. What happened? Did you overpack for our weekend?” She notices his nose isn’t red anymore.

“Ha ha, Jug, very funny. And don’t call it ‘our weekend’. Your fridge is practically empty.”

“Ah, my girl, always so thoughtful.” He says gently with a hand over his chest and it makes Betty freeze for a moment as it lucidly reminds her of her drea-

_No, no! None of that, ignore it!_

She shakes her head and her cheeks flare up some more.

“Whatever Jug, would you let me through? This stuff is heavy.”

Jughead knows better than to offer a hand when she’s as annoyed as she is right now, so he steps aside to let her in, smiling and happy to have her back. Betty can practically _see_ a tail wagging from how excited he’s being right now. She doesn’t want to admit it’s cute, so she ignores that thought as well.

Walking into the trailer she places the shopping totes onto the table, the light weight vacuum against the wall and finally her duffle onto a chair. Jughead peaks into the shopper with the cleaning supplies and then at the vacuum in confusion.

“Uh...” He starts.

Betty begins to unpack the groceries, opening the fridge to put the food away.

“I'm going to clean the trailer up a little.” She simply answers. He looks at her surprised.

“Oh..uh, Betty you don't have to though.” 

She peeks over through the opening of the kitchen into the living room to see that, although he’s put the pull out bed away, there’s used plates, apple cores, tissues (and his medicine, good!) on the coffee table, back in front of the couch.

Betty gives him a look. Jughead only sheepishly smiles and rubs the back of his neck. She rolls her eyes and makes her way into the living room to gather up his trash.

When she comes back into the kitchen to throw out the garbage and put his dirty plates into the sink, Jughead peaks further into the bag to see what else she had brought.

Gloves, sponges, some cleaning sprays…

His eyes narrow at some red and white fabric that catches his eye. Betty is busy with the dishes, so he reaches in to pull it out from the bottom and grins wildly when he sees what it is.

“So uh, all this cleaning stuff is for cleaning the trailer huh?”

“That’s right.”

“And all this food is for cooking today?” Betty raises an eyebrow into the sink.

“Obviously Jug.”

“Right, right...so, then what’s _this_ for?” He cheekily asks, making Betty turn her head back in confusion. She gasps when she sees what’s in his hand:

A costume nursing cap with ruffles and a red heart on it.

“_Ohmygod!_ T-that’s not mine!”

Jughead bites his lip as he grins.

“That’s what they always say Betty.”

“It’s Kevin’s! He placed it there when I wasn’t looking!” She huffs and walks over to try and snatch it out of his hand, but of course being taller than her, he easily keeps it out of reach.

“Jughead!”

He laughs as he keeps switching it from one hand to the other. Betty’s blushing scowling face keeping him entertained. (It’s so damn cute!) When she starts jumping for it though, he shifts his feet around to maneuver out of the way.

“C’mon Betts, just wear it for me. I’m sure I'll get _much_ better with my sexy little nurse around.” He teases. Her heart pounds at being called _‘sexy’_.

_Ignore!_

She pushes those thoughts to the back of her head and growls as she makes another jump for it, her hands reach out and…

_Yes! Got it!_

“Ha!”

Betty gloats, but then freezes. She had basically used his chest for leverage, tightly gripping his shirt, and when she came back down on her feet, she's caught staring up into his striking blue eyes. They soften, staring back and when his eyes shift down to her glossy lips she gasps and spins around, letting go of him.

“You ok?” He asks.

“I’m fine.” She says, flushed and warm. Betty throws the cap back into the bag and puts away the last of the groceries, keeping her eyes downcast.

“I'm gonna start cleaning, so go watch t.v or something.”

Jughead gives her a small smirk before silently obeying and heads off towards the couch.

Betty begins to unpack her cleaning supplies and can’t help but lick her lips, tasting the strawberry flavor. In the far recesses of her mind, she wonders if Jughead could tell what flavor it was as well.

  


  


“Ok, kitchen’s done.” Betty says to herself as she looks over her work. Next should be Jughead’s room. She’s ignoring the little flutters in her belly at the anticipation of going in there and what cocky remarks he might say. But she’s determined to get it over with.

“Jug?” she calls out, making her way over to him.

Betty walks into the living room to find that Jughead has fallen asleep on the couch. Not surprising really, given the fact that he’s still sick AND barely had any sleep last night.

She clears her throat at the memory and looks back over to him. His head lays on the armrest at the far end. One leg is slightly bent, his left arm hangs above his head while his other lays across his stomach.

Something pounds within her at the sight and she swallows thickly. He looks like a goddamn model or something, posing for the latest pajama catalogue. Doesn’t help that the sun is hitting his body and face just right, making him look even _more_ like a male model in a photoshoot.

She briefly wonders what kind of demographic he would be shooting for anyways. Definitely not something prim and poise like J.Crew, even though he most certainly has the face _and_ physique for it.

Her eyes trail over his upper body, easily making out all the dips and bumps of his muscles.

Maybe there’s some kind of Harley Davidson edition out there that has a sleepwear section in it, something for motorcycle enthusiasts to lounge around in when they’re not fixing up their bikes.

Then she notices his shirt has risen up a bit, showing off just a sliver of his hip bone, which makes Betty swallow down the pool of saliva that she didn’t realize had accumulated in her mouth since she started to stare him down.

_God! Pull yourself together girl!_

Betty turns her blushing face away. She clears her head and sighs then makes her way over to him to wake him up. As she gets closer she can’t help but look over his features once again. His long legs, his chest, his arms. Betty’s never fully realized it but, when did Jughead become a man?

She stops within a few feet of him, right by his knees. She remembers an annoying young kid, about her height, couple inches taller and with an adolescent face. But _now,_ the person lying in front of her is...well, still annoying, but now he’s an older, taller guy with sharp features. His nose, his cheekbones, his shoulders...everything is different.

And it’s been making her feel...different too. She briefly remembers to ignore these feelings, but suddenly Kevin’s words echo in her head:

_ **He’ll drive you crazy for a whole new reason.** _

Her brow wrinkles and her lip disappears between her teeth as she stares at him. Then Joaquin’s question comes up.

_ **Do you like him?** _

Betty's heartbeat quickens and pounds away, so much so that she has to put her hand over her chest to try and calm it.

_I do...as a person!_

_ **Do you like him?** _

She looks over his face again; peaceful, unaware.

_ **He’ll drive you crazy** _

_He is...with all these confusing emotions…_

Betty slowly begins to lean over him.

_ **Do you like him?** _

Her stomach feels tight, warm.

_ **Do you like him?** _

Jughead moves a little in his sleep, lulling his head to the side.

  


_Oh_

  


There’s a stray feather in his hair. Betty thought she had cleaned them all up before she left. But must have missed one or two that were nestled away in the couch and has now landed within his dark locks when he first laid down. She reaches a hand out to take it.

  
_Wait! What am I doing!?_  


  


Pulling her hand back against her beating chest, she takes a minute to think this over. She could just wake him up, but she is responsible for the mess she caused, so maybe she should get this one too after all…

Betty bites her lip again and scans the room. A stupid move she realizes, as no one else is here of course, then having made up her mind, tentatively reaches out again, carefully plucking the small white feather out from his hair.

_Oh..!_

Her fingers had lightly brushed his hair and it’s ridiculously soft! Like, it should be a crime at how soft it is! She finds herself wanting to touch it again, and _that_ makes her pull back altogether.

_Ok, enough of that! I should just go clean his room. No sense in waking him up._

Just as she’s about to turn and head towards the back of the trailer, she stops mid step. Her heart continues to beat steadily and without wanting to think to much on it, she looks back, letting her eyes rake over his sleeping face, noticing small details that has her turning back to fully face him. The shape of his eyebrows, how long his lashes are, the small stubble on his chin. One has to wonder if he keep himself clean shaven for her, since a scruffy face would surely work better with his gang member look.

Then she looks over his beauty marks. Something that just always seemed to be such a contrast to his whole bad boy image, having such delicate features on his face. They’ve always captivated her.

Betty gasps a little at that. She looks them over once more and....yes, fine! They’re beautiful! She gives in with a heavy flush and admits it. His whole face is! She can hear the pounding of her heart as she leans in a little closer to look at him. Eyebrows, cheeks, nose, _lips_…

Her wide doe eyes stare at them, remembering the way they parted this morning.

They look so...soft and smooth. How can a guy who’s in a _gang_, who’s loud and bold, harsh but childish and carries an air of defiance with him, have such beautiful tender looking lips? His cupid bow is perfect, and his bottom lip is nicely shaped too. Wide and ample. They hold her gaze in a trance and have her wondering just how _velvety soft_ they actually are, maybe she can reach out with her fingertip and see...she almost found out yesterday, when he had grabbed her hand that evening and tried to...k-...ki-

Her eyes widen. Now realizing how _close_ her face has gotten!

She’s been tilting forward at an odd angle and now, having broken out of her hazy induced state, is losing balance. She tries to put one foot out to steady herself, but of course it gets caught up on her own ankle and she falls forward.

_”Ah!”_

Betty lands on Jughead, burying her face in his shoulder, immediately startling and waking him up with a grunt as she knocks the wind out of his chest.

Her hands fumble, trying to grab onto _anything_ but him as she struggles to get up. Her heart is ready to burst out and her skin heats up immensely. Finally, one hand settles next to his rib cage and the other on the couch as she pushes herself up to stare down at a shocked, wide eyed Jughead.

Betty’s face turns beet red..

  


  


  


  


  


_tbc..._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it was not my intention to start this chap with B+Jug on the couch AND have it end it the same way 😅 but I had to cut it there because the chapter was at about 10,000 words!! and I wasn't even FINISHED with it, there was about 2 more scenes to add, so I had to split it in half, which sucks because it had one of my most favorite scenes in the overall story, BUT what this also means is that chapter 5 is already halfway done! Woo! So stay tuned for that as it might get posted sometime *veeeery* soon ;) ;)
> 
> Comments might make that happen quicker 😁😁❤️️ just so ya know! haha, so fav parts? Things you're hoping for? Moments that made you go LOL? Let me know and take care buggies ❤️️😊😘
> 
> EDIT: I have a [tumbr!](https://beaniebeni.tumblr.com/) Follow me there for updates!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty has just stumbled on top of a sleeping Jughead, shocking and waking him up..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello buggies! I am SO sorry for the long wait! Life, as we all know, gets in the way sometimes and it's unavoidable. Any free time that I had, I tried to focus on updating. But I was very stressed and didn't want to force myself to write & have the story affected bc of it. I've also been working on an extra special something for 'Remedy', which also blames why it's taken so long to update. Initially, I didn't want to post until my 'project' was done, but I didn't want to keep you all waiting. So this chap is a lil bit longer to make up for it & I hope to have my special something done by the next one. 🤞
> 
> Also, I've been noticing ways on how to improve my writing structure, but I feel like it would be annoying to suddenly change my whole writing style this far in. So instead I'll just be making small, subtle changes with my writing now.
> 
> p.s: This AMAZING person, aam-loves, made an incredible manip for this story, [CLICK HEREEE](https://aam-loves.tumblr.com/post/190604966036/i-looooove-this-beautiful-story-a-remedy-for)
> 
> Enjoy!

# Cats and Tongues

### 

  
  


Jughead blinks at her, shocked for a moment, then a sly smile creeps up. His hands come up around her and he hugs her back down to his chest, causing her to squeak.

“You know if you wanted to cuddle, all you had to do was ask, Betts.” The blood in her ears pound.

“T-that’s not-! I tripped!” she stutters.

He only continues to smirk at her. The feel of his body, in _this position_ is making her break out in cold AND hot sweats. Although she’s not completely on top of him, half of her is more on an angle and one foot has landed back on the floor, she is very aware that her breasts are pressed against him again and their hips are touching, also, her other leg has landed in between his…

This is much more intimate than the other hugs she’s received so far. Not to mention she was just admitting that he’s good looking and has an attractive face, so suddenly being in the arms of said good looking guy, has the jitters buzzing around in her stomach, ready to fly right out. Her body is heating up and she can feel Jughead’s heart beat. It too, is pounding away, but it certainly doesn't seem to match the expression he's wearing. It's teasing, but knowing. And he's warm and cozy, with his arms are entirely wrapped around her, making her feel small. She's caught staring into his impossibly blue eyes and when his smile softens, she feels like she might bend to his will if he opens up that beautiful mouth of his and says something. So she quickly pushes herself up once again and out of his arms, stumbling off of him.

“It was an accident! I was...cleaning the coffee table and tripped!” Her chest heaves and her shoulders come up and down in that cute little way that’s just oh so adorable to him, seeing her all flustered like that. Jughead sits up.

“But there’s nothing in your hands.” He points out, smirking.

“I..I meant I was about to!”

“Except you already cleaned it earlier.” He’s biting his pillowy lip and Betty has to turn away.

“Well I was going to clean it _again._ You’re germs are all over the place!” Jughead lets out a laugh at that and it makes her want to see what kind of expression he’s wearing along with it.

_Ugh! I’m too young to be dealing with all this ‘emotion’ in my body. I can’t stay here another night. Once I clean his room I’m sure he’ll be fine on his own._

“Just..stay there, I’ve got to finish my work.” Betty huffs, still blushing madly as she begins to walk back into the kitchen with Jughead chuckling and hot on her trail.

“Take a break, now that you’ve got my attention and I know you want to cuddle instead.” He says in a teasingly playful tone.

“That is _not_ what I was doing!” She stops and tells him. Jughead smiles and raises an eyebrow at her, making her growl at him.

“Think what you want then! I’m going to finish cleaning the rest of the trailer.” Betty grabs her tote and the vacuum and marches down the narrow hallway.

Jughead’s eyes widen and asks, “What, clean where?”

“Your room.” Betty says with less apprehension of entering it, now that he’s already started to wound her up. Jughead rushes past her and stops in front of his door, blocking her way.

“No! Wait! Uh-” He turns his head back towards his room, looking worried, then back to her.

“Gimmie like 10 minutes. You can start in the bathroom instead.” She raises an eyebrow at him.

He was _so_ eager to have her in his room last night, now he’s being all defensive about it? It’s making Betty very curious as to what he could be hiding (most likely a messy room, but again, why invite her in it if he’s embarrassed that it's untidy?) He MUST be hiding something, which means he was counting on her flustered nerves to keep herself out.

_I should just barge in there and see what he’s hiding then. A little payback for all the teasing he’s said and done._

Jughead silently pleads with his anxious eyes and Betty sighs heavily. She supposes it’s not good to hold grudges anyways.

“Fine, 10 minutes.” He beams and swiftly disappears into his room slamming the door shut. Betty _thinks_ she hears it lock for good measure before she heads over to the small bathroom to begin her work.

  


  


Betty gives him 15 minutes to be generous and knocks onto his bedroom door.

“Jug? I need to get started.” Pressing her ear to the door she hears him softly cursing at himself and shuffling things about. Finally, he opens the door, looking a little _more_ flushed than usual and also a little out of breath. 

“Uh...ok. You can start.” 

Betty gives him a calculating look and enters his room with her supplies. She stops and realizes that this is the first time ever that she's entering a boys room! (Kevin doesn't count) Her eyes scan about; hard metal band posters taking up every inch of his walls. Two dressers, a large one in front of her on the left side wall and a smaller one to her right with a small closet door next to it.

The dressers are strewn with random objects on them like deodorant, cologne, sunglasses, bandanas and a couple of his metal jewelry. A small night stand with a lava lamp sits in the far right corner and various combat boots and converse tucked under his grey bed, to which she quickly glances away.

_Don’t even think about it, just put it in the back of your mind Betty._

Betty blushes and clears her thoughts, then gives the room one more look around. Clearly he cleaned up, but he did miss a few candy wrappers, crumpled bags of chips and empty soda cans. Plus his bed sheets (when she had briefly looked) are just hastily thrown on.

With a determined breath and her shoulders squared she sets the vacuum against the wall by the door and pulls out a small trash bag from the tote before setting it down and gets to work.

She begins by picking up and disposing of the scattered trash, off the dressers, into the small black bag. She even tidies up the random stuff on it. Then, she cleans his nightstand and readjusts his lavalamp. Next she pulls off his wrinkled bed sheets (and blushes again as she does so) and puts them into a small pile on the edge so she can wash them later. Then, she makes her way back towards her vacuum by the door, but stops when sees that Jughead has been carefully watching her the entire time, leaning against the large dresser with his arms crossed and hands under his pits, sporting a concentrated expression on his face.

Betty cocks an eyebrow at him.

“You can go sit down Jughead, you don’t have to stand there the whole time.”

“No, it’s alright. I’m good here.” She raises both of her eyebrows at that. Maybe he’s worried she’ll find more of his sheepdog boxers or something.

“Fine, whatever Jug.” Rolling her eyes she turns around to start vacuuming.

She vacuums around one side of his bed, then makes her way around the other side again, where his nightstand is. But then something suddenly catches into the vacuum, so she shuts it off to bend down and investigate what got caught from underneath his bed. One of his flannels, with the hanger still on, has gotten the cuff stuck during the suction.

“Jughead!”

He gives her an apologetic grin and shrugs his shoulders. Shaking her head, Betty pulls the cuff out and makes her way over to the small closet door, reaching for the handle.

“Betty, no wait!-” Jughead rushes off the dresser towards her with an outstretched hand. But it’s too late, she had already twisted and pulled the door open and is bombarded with an avalanche of junk as it lands at her feet.

She stares shocked at the mess, then swiftly turns her head to glare at him. He makes a pained face, then hangs his head and runs his fingers through his hair while his other hand rests on his hip. Betty sighs and turns her head back towards the pile.

Baseball bats, skateboards, roller skates, helmets and other various things a once young, rowdy Serpent boy would play with, sit nestled within his wardrobe consisting of red, grey, black and other dark fabrics. She scans the mess then blinks when something orange, almost pastel, catches her eye, tucked far away into the closet.

Betty moves in and reaches for the bright object amongst his dark clothes. Jughead picks his head back up, just as she's pulling out the small orange item and his eyes widen.

“Oh my god…” She whispers, looking at the fabric creature in her hands.

_“Caramel?”_

Jughead quickly comes up to her with a blushing face and fumbling hands.

“Um, well, I-Uh..” Betty takes in the stuffed toys weathered appearance with gentle hands as Jughead stutters on.

“Jughead, how-? _Where_ did you get this?” She finally looks up at him with big curious eyes. Jughead swallows thickly and rubs the back of his blushing neck awkwardly.

“Uh, well-”

“I made her, _years_ ago, for one of the Town’s fairs…” She interrupts.

Betty remembers working late into the night making Caramel. She smooths over the cats wired tangled whiskers and looks at it’s beady lopsided eyes. It’s mis-matched lumpy patchwork body and her misshapen ears and crooked snout.

In short, Caramel is an ugly old thing. A young Betty wanted to prove she could learn how to sew a full-sized doll in one night, the night before the Town’s annual fair, so she could add it to her other homemade goods that she was going to sell alongside with Veronica, that day.

  


*  
*  
*

_“Don’t be so down B! You sold everything else one your table!” A young, 14 year old Veronica says. Standing at her own table with jewelry on it next to Betty’s empty one, all except for the stuffed cat sitting hunched over in the middle with a ‘Hi, my name is Caramel’ sign next to it. Young Betty sits with her chin in her crossed arms on the table and sighs._

_“But it’s the last thing left! And I worked so hard and nobody wants her.” She says with a sad frown._

_“Maybe she’s just not...what people expect.” Veronica offers kindly. “She just needs the right kind of owner.”_

_A small boy walks by, eating a candied apple and flinches when he sees the horrid thing before quickly scurrying off. Betty groans into her arms._

_“I should have named it ‘Frankenstein’.” She mumbles as Veronica smiles softly and rubs her shoulder._

____

_Elsewhere, a young Jughead Jones and his gang have decided to have a look at the Northside fair. Laughing and causing mischief. He turns his head and spots Betty and Veronica’s tables amongst the other residents’ tents._

_Instantly smiling, he starts to make his way over to her, but stops short when he sees her sorrowful face as she scribbles something onto a piece of paper and places it next to what he **thinks** is a cat that says ‘please buy me.’ He watches her sigh heavily, then gets up from her chair with a sad, downcast expression and her shoulders hunched._

_He frowns looking over at her. She just looks so...heartbroken and it pulls at his **own** heartstrings to see her this way. Betty is usually so chipper or at the very least, lively, when she’s arguing with him over his pranks or his flirting. He hates seeing her like this, so miserable and unhappy.._

_After a brief moment she starts to walk away from her table. With a determined look, Jughead makes his way over._

____

_“I’m gonna go get a snow cone.” Betty says to Veronica who’s handing her customer their change._

_“Want me to watch Caramel?” She asks._

_“Why bother? It’s more likely for her to come alive and run off, then if someone were to actually buy her.” She says sadly and walks off towards one of the food vendors._

_A little while later after briefly checking out some other tables’ wares, Betty makes her way back over to Veronica with her half eaten snow cone, but stops and blinks widley at her empty table._

_“Where’s Caramel?”_

_Veronica looks up at her from her chair, having taken a break herself, and gives her a secret smile._

_“Someone bought her.”_

_“Really!?” Betty drops her snow cone as Veronica hands her over the cash. Her eyes and expression light up instantly._

_“Who?” She asks excitedly, looking around, hoping to spot the stranger. Veronica shrugs her shoulders and replies cheerfully._

_“They wanted to remain anonymous.”_

_Betty beams at her friend and places a ‘closed’ sign onto her table as Veronica shifts her chair over to make room for Betty, now ready to help out her raven-haired besite’s table. Her cheeks hurt from smiling as she people watches and wonders idly who her mystery buyer was._

*  
*  
*

  


“Jug…” Betty says looking up at his blushing red face with wide hopeful eyes.

“..._You_ bought Caramel?”

He clears his throat awkwardly and rubs the back of his head, looking away.

“Well...yeah.”

“Why?” She asks softly, searching his face.

Jughead swallows thickly. “Because you just looked so sad that day and...I hated seeing you look so upset.”

  


*  
*  
*

_Hiding from the side and smiling triumphantly at a now **happy** Betty Cooper, young Jughead stuffs the toy cat into his jacket with a pat on the head and runs off to catch up with his Serpent pals._

*  
*  
*

  


Betty blinks at him then looks back down at the worn out cat with a squished face and a crooked smile. She exhales softly with a small laugh and smooths her hand over the cat's head before turning to look up at him once more.

“Thank you.” She says.

Jughead pockets his hands and ducks his flushed face.

“You’re welcome.” 

Betty smiles at the young man in front of her. Her heart swells at the fact that he did something so sweet. He’s done other small things, sure, like give her letters and gifts. But this one feels more sentimental. It proves that he really cared about, _still_ cares about her, wanting to see her smile and giving her the best gift; happiness.

Jughead’s ears quickly warm up as she continues to look at him, so he clears his throat and says, “Actually I’m still feeling kinda tired so..I think I’ll go lay back down on the couch.”

As he turns and exits the room, Betty looks back at the old, dingy toy cat and smiles warmly as she hugs it tightly to her chest.

_She found the perfect owner._

  


  


After her tidying up is done and she places Caramel in the middle of his freshly made bed, which makes Jughead blush when he peeks in to check, Betty is _actually_ feeling pretty good. She's even cleaned up the living room a little, before putting the her totes and the vacuum away in her car.

“All done?” Jughead asks from the couch as she returns back into the trailer. She walks over to straighten one of the pillows, then looks around at her handiwork, nodding her head.

“Yup. All clean. I’m gonna get started on lunch now.” Jughead chuckles and stands up.

“Betts, you’ve been cleaning all morning, take a break.” Betty pouts a little and looks off to the side.

“But I’ve still got so much to do.” Jughead raises an eyebrow and grins.

“You’ve done so much _already_, besides, if anything we can just have a couple of sandwiches, you know? Something easy, or I could order us a pizza.” Betty crosses her arms and smirks at him.

“A pizza, Jughead? Have you forgotten what I said? You need _healthy_ food to get better. All that grease will probably just give you a stomach ache.” 

“You’re denying me my favorite food?” He says laughs. She returns his smile and raises an eyebrow at him.

“You’re favorite food is hamburgers, a double patty _cheeseburger_ to be exact, with fries.” Jughead bites his lip in amusement, looking down at her softly. 

“You know what I like, huh?” Betty shifts her eyes and shrugs, feeling a little embarrassed with how proudly she knew that fact.

“Well...yeah. I mean, you’re always at Pop’s and-” 

“Oh, are you stalking me?” He teases. Betty frowns and huffs, giving him a look.

“Hardly! If anything, _you’re_ the one always looking around for _me!_ I like to frequent Pop’s just as much as anyone else in this town. Plus, you admitted that you specifically came into the diner that night to see if I was there.” 

“You’re right, I did. I wanted to see you.” He simply says and it catches her off guard, making her feel even _more_ embarrassed with how easily he agreed. She clears her throat.

“W-Well, anyways, we don’t have hamburgers,” She blushes. “No sense in _buying_ food when I brought over stuff to make something.” Jughead comes up to her.

“Betty, just sit and take a small break. You deserve it.” Too shy to meet his gaze, Betty contemplates it for a minute, her heart beating steadily.

“Let me at _least_ prep lunch so it’s ready before I start making it.” A smile tugs at his lips.

“Alright Cooper, you win. Promise you won't take too long though, so you can come sit down with me.”

She tries not to let her face get any redder. “Sure, fine.”

“See you back here in a bit.” He says with a grin. Betty glances away and turns her face before he can see the blush creeping up. She makes her way into the kitchen to begin sorting out her ingredients.

  


  


After a couple of minutes of prep work, Betty remembers she needs to defrost some chicken so she can it add to the new soup that she will be making later, for dinner tonight. It will surely boost his immunity up. She turns away from the counter and walks over to the fridge, reaching out for the freezer door. 

But because the fridge is old, the door is a bit jammed, so Betty tugs and tugs, trying to pry it open. Finally, with one hard tug it flies open just as Jughead strolls into the kitchen, promptly hitting him in the face with a loud _whack!_

“OHMYGOD! JUG! Are you ok!?”

He groans and hunches over as he covers his face from the pain. Betty reaches her hands out to check the damage, a stuffy AND bleeding nose now. Great. 

“I’m so sorry!”

Jughead tightly shuts his eyes and sniffles as he pinches his nose.

“It’s alright..no biggie.” He says pained. Betty pulls a chair over and ushers him to sit down. She grabs a clean dish towel and turns back towards him.

“Here, let me see.” She leans down and worriedly looks over his face to make sure he’s not starting to bruise either as she dabs the towel at his nose.

“I didn’t see you! Is it broken?” She asks, slowly panicking.

Jughead groans again and tries to blink away the spots in his vision then reaches a hand back up to check.

“No...I don't think so, just hurts like hell.” He nasally voice says. Oh perfect, now his already congested nose is gonna get worse. She’s supposed to be helping to clear his airways, not clog them up! 

“Jughead, I'm so sorry!”

“It’s ok Betts, I’ve been in tougher fights and have had worse done. You just caught me off guard so I wasn’t ready to take a hit.” He jokes. Betty frowns at him.

“It’s not funny Jug!”

He looks at her through one groggy eye as she continues to wipe his bloodied nose. 

“It’s a little funny.” Betty glances at him with a furrowed brow and blushes. Biting her lower lip, trying to concentrate on cleaning him up. Jughead smiles softly at her.

“You can laugh Betty. I promise I won’t get mad.”

“Jug, be quiet. I’m trying to clean this up and I can’t do it with you constantly talking.”

“Yes ma’am.” He closes his eyes and smiles and Betty honestly just considers stuffing the towel up his nose. When it finally seems to have stopped bleeding and she’s wiped it all off, she pulls back and straightens up with a sigh, dropping her arms at her side.

“Ok, I think it’s good now.” 

Jughead opens his eyes and stares up at her, smiling still. It makes her want to squirm in place.

“Thanks babe, you’re the best.” He winks. Betty shifts her gaze and turns her hot face away from him.

“W-Whatever Jug, get out so I can finish this.” She motions to the counter where she was in the middle of cutting up vegetables, her heart pounding at the nickname. She’ll let him get away with _that_ for now since she almost broke his nose. 

“What will we be having?” He asks, peeking around her as she disposes of the towel and washes her hands, clearing her throat before replying.

“This new recipe that I found online, 'Green Tea Chickpea' soup.” 

She turns around to find Jughead making a face that can only be described as the same as when you place a plate of broccoli in front of a stubborn child. 

“You’re killing me here Betts.” 

Betty crosses her arms, the flush in her cheeks slowly fading.

“On the contrary Jughead, I’m trying to help _cure_ you of your cold.” 

“Can’t we _please_ have something else?” He begs. Giving her those damn puppy dog eyes that have made her give in to him more than once already. Betty sighs heavily, rubbing her temple.

“Like what?”

“A large pie.” He says eagerly. Betty twists her lips at him, getting ready to argue back, but he sniffles a little and it makes her feel guilty for hitting him with the freezer door, even if it was an accident.

So she gives in and allows him to order them a pizza, silently glad and relieved that she didn’t damage his beautiful face.

  


  


She’s feeling a bit restless, having lunch with him in the small kitchen. Trying not to watch him eat, glancing at his lips or the way he keeps having to flip his soft hair back, to keep out of his face, when he lowers his head down to take a bite of his food. They’ve sat and ate together yesterday no problem, so why is she feeling so nervous now? 

Betty takes a small bite of her pizza and then it hits her. The setting, the food, the two of them together, _alone_, it sorta feels like they’re on a...date.

She coughs a little and quickly reaches for her water, hoping the cold liquid will cool down her heated cheeks. Thankfully Jughead is so engrossed in his food, he didn’t notice. But her body is beginning to tense up now, and the quietness between them isn’t helping either. It’s leaving her alone with her thoughts, arguing with herself that this ISN'T a DATE.

_I’m taking care of him! We’re just having lunch. Plus he’s in pajamas!_

That thought makes her look down at herself, suddenly feeling overdressed for pizza instead of something fancier that would be more appropriate for a date.

_Not a date!_

She frowns into her slice. Mentally battling with herself over the situation and the feelings she’s experiencing right now. Taking note of the silence, Jughead looks up to see Betty practically squirming in her seat. He arches a brow and swallows his bite.

“Betts?”

His voice breaks her out of her thoughts, and she blinks her doe eyes at him.

“Huh?”

“Did you want something else? You’re looking at that slice like it insulted you.” 

Her cheeks tint some more from embarrassment.

“Oh, n-no, it’s fine. This is fine.” She stutters out.

“I _can_ order you something else, whatever you want.” 

Now _that_ makes it feel like a date. Betty shakes her head and tries to ignore the tingles in her spine.

“It’s ok Jug, really. Just, had something on my mind, nothing important.” She says, looking away and oblivious that her hand has reached up and started to play with one of the jewels on her collar. He follows her movement, then wipes his hands and leans onto his elbows. 

“I like that sweater.”

Betty’s hand freezes. “H-huh?” 

Jughead’s cheeks lift into a smile.

“It’s one of my favorites. That shade is beautiful on you, brings out the color of your lips.” 

Betty brings her hands under the table, squeezing both palms in between her legs, blinking down bashfully. He likes her sweater, called her beautiful, stared at her _lips_. She’s not sure if she’s feeling embarrassed at rightfully picking out something he liked or if it’s from the compliment. Probably both. What she does know is this; the food, sitting together, the outfit, hell, he even made sure to pay the delivery boy before she could....it all leads to the fact that she’s pretty much on a date with Jughead.

Keeping her flushed face down, Betty says quietly, “Thank you.” 

Jughead smiles. And even though she is sure she’s more or less the same shade as her sweater right now, Betty realizes she's been slowly lowering her defenses around him and is becoming more accepting of whatever this…_thing_ between her and Jughead is. Friendship? They are friends right? But there’s definitely something more, at least for Jughead, in regards to _her,_ obviously.

It’s making Betty a little anxious to really sit there and think about, especially with Jughead right across from her. So she picks up her slice and takes another bite, focusing on chewing her food instead, but not entirely dismissing the appeal she feels at this little ‘date’ that they are having.

Even if she is overdressed for pizza.

  


  


After lunch, Betty cleans a little more where she can, making sure that Jughead takes his medicine (He’s gotten a LOT better. No more sniffles) and even cooked him a normal chicken noodle soup (with _some_ vegetables) that they both quietly had for dinner. He still cracks a flirty comment here and there, but honestly, instead of getting annoyed or dismissive, she just shakes her head and turns away from him to hide her growing amusement. 

So it doesn’t bother her as much when its well into the evening and they sit together on the couch, once again, watching some film noir movie Jughead had put on for her. She’s thankful of the gesture, but waking up at the crack of dawn, cleaning, cooking AND taking care of him, is finally starting to have its effect on her, as her eyes start to glaze over and she covers her mouth to stifle a small yawn. 

Just as her eyelids begin to slowly close, a large warm hand places itself onto her left shoulder, waking her up immediately. Betty tenses up under his touch and she shyly looks up to Jughead next to her. 

He’s leaning an elbow onto the armrest, resting his head on his fist and is looking straight forward. But there’s a subtle blush on his cheeks and his adam's apple bobs when he swallows thickly. 

Betty feels her own blush form, glancing down to her hands in her lap. She quietly mulls _this_ situation over as her heart races. In lieu of everything that’s happened today and the things that she’s learned and quietly admitted to herself; that Jughead _is_ good looking and has always been a good, caring guy, always putting her first AND she appreciates and likes him (as a person) more now, it leads her to conclude that, maybe...she might be ok with this. 

It still sends her nerves into a hot mess, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable to sit here, close to him. She thinks she might even sorta like it, which makes her blush a little harder.

Betty gradually relaxes her shoulders and then, a move that even baffles her, which she can’t quite explain WHY she decides to do, (it has to be a ‘caught up in the moment’ sort of thing) tentatively leans her shoulder into him. Her heart quickly beats.

The grip on her shoulder tightens slightly and the corner of Jughead’s mouth lifts up in a small smile. 

She has no idea what’s going on with the movie right now, as he’s started to gently rub her shoulder with his thumb. She can't concentrate when his dexterous finger leaves a wake of heat in it’s trail through her sweater and onto her skin.

Not to mention that the heat of his body is just as distracting. She’s briefly felt it against her more the once already, but now that she’s not pulling away she can really feel how warm he is and his torso is just as sturdy as it looks.

Betty quickly shifts her eyes, not realizing when they had landed at the drawstring of his sweats, where a prominent _bump_ lies. 

The thought of Jughead’s body reacting in such a way because of _her_ has her own body feeling hot and tingly all over. She feels that distinct pulse happening again between her legs, the one that she’s been feeling when he looks at her a certain way. When he was in nothing but a towel, when he licked his thumb, the way he spoke to her in her dream... it's making Betty steadily pant through her nose. Her whole body feels like it’s erupted in flames. 

Jughead pulls her in a little closer, and it makes her chest feel tight and her legs squeeze together, and if she wanted to, she could lean her head on him right now. She _almost_ even considers it, clearly lost in the mood of what’s going on, but then he swallows thickly again before clearing his throat and croaks out.

“Um..this ok? You good, still comfy?” 

Betty is too frazzled to answer back, so she gives him a small _mmhmm_ and avoids looking at him. Her face feels insanely hot and her hands have become clammy.

Jughead licks his lips as he continues to stare forward as well.

“Cat got your tongue?” He asks nervously and despite her skittish demeanor, Betty can’t help but smile a little at that. It even puts her a little at ease.

“I..thought you preferred snakes in that phrase.” She says shly, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Oh um...yea.” He says awkwardly, dismissively, almost. Betty gives him a confused look.

“Because of their tongues, remember?” She encourages. “You bragged about how they could do a lot more and your ‘expertise’ on them? And how you’d ‘show me’ what you knew If I came over, which I am, obviously.”

The words leave her mouth before she has a chance to register what she just said to him. It has him raising his eyebrows and turning to stare widley down at her. Betty’s mouth hangs open as she blinks and looks away, her whole face and neck blushing.

“I-I mean.._You_ said..” 

_Wait_

“-Talking about tongues and-”

_What am I saying?!_

“- I am here but-”

_STOP_

“-Y-your expertise and-”

_Oh my god…_

“-You said you’d...tongues..and um…”

Betty all but stutters as she had rambled on. And now she feels absolutely mortified at the realization of what she was unintentionally insinuating...

Did she just ask Jughead Jones to make out with her?? 

_Ohmygod!!_

Betty is so utterly astonished with herself that she _has_ to look up at Jughead to see what he’s thinking. He looks quite shocked. Completely thrown off by what she just said. Like if someone told him something absurd like _pigs do indeed fly, they could all along!_

But no one told him that. No one else is here, just Betty. Betty, who just moments ago, basically reminded him that he should be kissing her right now if she ever came over..and she is! Sitting on the couch with him! In his arms!

“B-Betty?” Is all he can say, trying to figure out if she actually means it. His heart is beating like crazy. 

“I..I um..” Betty stutters out, eyes lock onto his, both wide and searching each other. She can’t help but let her gaze slip, landing on his lips and…

_Oh.._

Her initial jitters of embarrassment are replaced with feelings of anticipation instead. Her breathing comes out soft and her eyes softened as she stares at his lips. Her body feeling _very_ warm now, mind hazy, as all she can do right now is just stare at his mouth. He feels warm too, being so close to her, Betty can smell his shampoo and...damn, it smells really good.

Jughead swallows thickly at the look she’s giving him right now. He turns towards her and her chest heaves a little quicker at the movement. She mimics him, turning as well and his hand shifts to her upper back from her movement. Betty gasps softly at the touch. He’s breathing steady too, as he looks her over. 

“Betty…”

His hand shifts lower down her back and he gently pulls her closer to him. Her own hand, instinctively reaches up to shakily grasp at his shirt. He lets out a hot breath at her touch. 

“Betts..” He whispers as he lowers his head to her. Both heart’s beating frantically and his eyes slowly closing as he descends closer to her face. 

“Jug…” 

Betty whispers back, eyelids fluttering closed and she tilts her chin slightly up. His breath fans over her heated cheeks and plump lips..

But then he halts for a moment, just barely touching her nose with his, and he pulls back a little as his eyebrows furrow, some small noise escaping him. Betty is softly panting through her slightly parted lips and her hazy mind briefly wonders why _his_ lips haven't come in contact yet. But then she feels him move back towards her, and with a sharp breath she lifts her chin again.

But he stalls once more, pulling back and making that weird noise again and _her_ eyebrows furrow together this time, searching behind her closed lids. She’s slowly losing her nerve and is about ready to have her brain wake up from this moody haze. But she feels him tighten his grip on her back and shift towards her again. Betty holds her breath as he comes just a hair’s inch from her....when he pulls back, takes in a sharp breath and sneezes onto her lap.

Jughead rears back, blushing furiously and covering his mouth with his hand, looking away from her. 

_“F-FUCK! Shit! S-Sorry!”_

Betty’s eyes rapidly blink open, completely dumbstruck at what had just happened. His ears are bright red, face turned away from her, no doubt silently cursing at himself. As if the heavens take pity on them, watching over this now awkward situation, Betty’s phone rings on the table and she fumbles for it. Face just as red as his. 

“H-Hello?” Betty answers, her heart still racing. It’s her mother on the other line, checking in to see how she’s been holding up by herself, completely unaware that her daughter is actually at a boys house, at _Jughead’s,_ unsupervised. Betty quietly answers her mother’s questions as she scans over the coffee table. Sudden movement to her right, has Betty glance over to see Jughead getting up and walking over to the corner of the trailer, with his back turned from her, hands pocketed. 

Something pinches hard in her chest.

“Mom? Mom, listen, I have to go. Yea, I’ll talk to you later, ok? Bye!” Betty quickly hangs up before Mrs. Cooper can say anything more, and she puts her phone on silent, just in case. Swallowing hard, Betty bites her lip before gathering all her nerves.

“Um, Jug..?” She asks carefully, brows wrinkled in worry. If her emotions weren't all over the place before, they’re swirling around in a hailstorm within her body right now, and she’s desperately trying to catch at _something_, as to what she should be feeling at this very moment. 

Jughead _finally_ turns back to her, and Betty breathes a sigh of relief, but she’s still a bit on edge. His cheeks are flushed and he’s looking hard at the ground, and that makes Betty bite her lip in worry again. But he clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair.

“This is probably the single most embarrassing thing to happen to me, around you, so far and _god_...I called you ‘mom’ and you saw me in my underwear the other day!” He groans and brings a hand up to cover his face.

Betty blinks at him. Then quickly brings a hand to her mouth and turns away, shoulders slightly shaking. Jughead peeks at her through his hands and smiles briefly before feigning hurt.

“I’m glad you find this to be so amusing, Betty. Laughing at others when their ego’s have been struck down. This is gonna ruin my reputation, my existence!”

Betty hunches over and brings her other hand around her waist, hugging herself as she continues to choke back her giggles behind her palm. Jughead can’t help but chuckle softly as well. He clears his throat again as he makes his way back over to the couch. 

Betty’s laughter subsides and she wipes her eye before turning back to find him offering her some tissues, to clean up. 

“Sorry, again. I uh-tried to stop it. Before.” Jughead rubs his neck awkwardly, cheeks coloring up. Betty feels her own face flush momentarily, before she takes the tissues and ducks her head.

“O-Oh. No, it’s..it’s ok.” She answers quietly. Things feel _better_, but they both definitely don’t know where to go to from here now. Always a problem solver, Betty shyly looks at him. 

“Why don’t we just finish the movie?” She offers. Jughead seems to be thinking something over, then carefully sits back down, next to her. 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want…” Betty gives a small smile, then straightens up and re-situates herself. “...babe.” 

She coyly bites her lip and ducks her head at the nickname as Jughead rewinds the movie to where they left it off. Given what just happened (or technically almost didn't) she will let him get away with that again, just for tonight.

  


  


After the movie finishes and they say ‘Goodnight’ (which makes her blush again) Betty watches Jughead’s retreating back from the kitchen opening as he heads towards his room and it has her feeling a weird pull in her stomach. Once he’s out of sight, Betty goes to lay down onto the pull-out couch, not yet ready to change into her pajamas. Staring at nothing, her mind races again at everything that’s happened with him once more.

He stayed up for her, she admitted he’s good looking, she found out just how much he really _cares_ and that makes her like him (as a person!) even more. 

She can’t help a small smile that settles over her face at the thought that he’s always been so sweet, so caring, so selfless. It has her wondering; what has she done for him, in return?

Betty frowns sadly.

Not much. She’s constantly yelled at him, ignored him, and walked away. But she’s kept all of his gifts and has even gifted him something in return!...although, a simple card from her, seems like such a shitty comparison in lieu of chocolates and jewelry, from him. 

Betty turns her sad face into her pillow. Why has she been taking him for granted? If not as a potential interest, then at least as a friend.

She’s feeling too upset with herself for how awful a ‘friend’ she’s been to him. Her chest hurts and she just wants to curl up and hug herself. But her jeweled sweater and her skinny jeans are far too uncomfortable to sleep in, so she gets up to retrieve her duffle and change. 

Rummaging around, Betty pulls out her PJ’s, toothbrush and her face wash. After finishing her nightly routine, Betty emerges from the bathroom, puts away her things and gets in under the covers, settling in for the night.

Except that her mind is wide awake. She turns on her side and brings in her knees, trying to will herself to go to sleep. She brings up the covers and focuses on the warmth. It makes her think back to Jughead’s warmth from when they were sitting together. 

Betty curls further into herself. She needs to address the elephant in the room of the reason she can’t fall asleep just yet. So she quietly, in the safe recesses of her own mind, thinks about it.

They were...cuddling! And then she thinks about what almost happened after..

_I...we....I almost...kissed him._

Her face burns hotly and she fully covers herself with the blankets.

_What’s going on with me?_

Is it natural to try and _kiss_ someone for no apparent reason? But there was a reason, wasn’t there? She remembers looking at his lips and then feeling...tempted. But why? Why would she be feeling tempted to kiss Jughead?

It’s then, that Betty remembers when Joaquin asked her if she wanted him to be her boyfriend, and the new emotions that run through her at that thought, has Betty squirm around under the covers. Her eyes shift about underneath. She’s not sure she wants to ask herself that question right now. Besides, it’s late, she should get some sleep for tomorrow.

_Oh. Tomorrow is Sunday._

The last thing Betty remembers before finally drifting off to sleep, is the tight pull in her chest at the fact that their weekend is practically over already…

  


  


  


  


  


_tbc..._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hate me for all the teasing I do to y'all LOL I promise bughead will actually happen at the end, and speaking of which, there's only like 2 chapters left! 😱😱 I'm having separation anxiety, like a parent dreading the day their kid goes off to college. 😭 Anywho, I appreciate comments 😊
> 
> I have a [tumblr](https://beaniebeni.tumblr.com/) now!!! Follow me for updates or ask me stuff! Take care buggies ❤️️😘
> 
> Don't forget to go show aam-loves some love for the incredible cover art! It's everything that this story is and aghhh i feel myself getting emotional...


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recap: After learning of how much Jughead truly cares for her, they almost kiss! Betty struggles with her feelings, as she lays in bed, and wonders what awaits her next as the last day of looking after him, draws near.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, things as we all know has been pretty crazy IRL And i would like to just list a couple of things before we start:
> 
> 1\. In light of the **recent musical episode**, I ask of you to **please refrain from mentioning it in any shape, way or form.** I'm 100% ok if you are coming here to get over the sheer awfulness, but please, don't taint this story with any mentions of it. That's all I ask.
> 
> 2\. Many times in mangas (japanese comics) when characters almost kiss (or they accidentally do) they play it off as no big deal. I realize this is going to be super frustrating to some, but again, this was all already played out when I wrote it. Betty needs to 'grow' first, and come to terms with her feelings, before getting to that point. So bottom line; they are just going to play it off, but it will happen, I PROMISE you all. 
> 
> 3\. Let's not dwell on what makes us upset, let's focus on what makes up happy. So once again please, leave any unsettling thoughts and feelings at the door and just remember what it was about this story that made you smile or made you squeal.
> 
> Now I thought I should mention that there **IS a brief talk of a play in this,** and it could, in a way, lead you back to the the 'variety show.' So that's just a heads up. But let's just focus on the story!
> 
> Feel free to ask any ques if you are confused! (if it doesn't spoil anything, I'll answer as best as I can)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (cover art by: aam-loves ❤️️)

# [Chapter 6]

### 

  
  


“Betty, Betty!” A squeaky little voice calls out within the trailer.

Betty groans and shifts about under her covers, slowly opening her eyes to see a small orange cat with patchwork fur, peeking over the couch at her and purring. Her face furrows in confusion.

“Caramel?”

“C’mon! Jughead’s waiting!”

She quickly sits up and looks down at the patchwork cat.

_...Huh??_

“C-Caramel, you can talk!?” Betty asks astounded.

“This way! C’mon!” Caramel ignores her question. 

She hops onto the couch and lightly treads over Betty’s lap, then down off the other side, disappearing into the kitchen. Betty blinks after her, then quickly throws the covers off. Arching a brow at her socked foot when she steps onto the carpeted floor. Did she purposely put on knee-high socks to go to bed? She doesn't remember. Shaking her head, she goes back to the other important matters at hand right now.

“Wait! Waiting for what? Caramel!”

“This way!” Her small voice calls back, strolling down the narrow hallway as Betty follows, quite confused. How is Caramel talking? and moving! and what is Jughead waiting for?

“Caramel, what’s going on?” She tries again.

“This way! This way!” Is the only reply she gets.. 

Betty shakes her head softly at the little cat as she quietly follows her. She doesn’t remember the hallway being _this_ long. Come to think of it, where did all these extra doors come from? Betty stops and looks back, the hallway curves and stretches on and she can no longer see the kitchen.

“Betty! C’mon! We’re almost there.”

She turns and jogs back to catch up with Caramel. Although the situation is quite odd and confusing, Caramel’s soft little purrs are helping to put her at ease. Finally, they make it to the end of the hallway, but Betty is only _more_ confused when she sees the trailer door instead of Jughead’s bedroom one. There’s even a small porch light sticking out on the side wall, next to some family photos. Caramel stops in front of it and turns back, sitting and looking up at Betty, who cocks a brow at the door.

“I don’t understand.” She says. Caramel just smiles. 

“I told you, Jughead’s waiting.” 

Betty lets out a sigh at the small cat, who continues to purr.

“Waiting for _what_, Caramel?” 

“He’s waiting! He’s waiting!” She says, hopping around enthusiastically. Betty groans, she’s not sure what’s going on, but she supposes she should find out whatever it is that Jughead needs. As she steps closer to the trailer/bedroom door, Caramel passes her to sit back and watch.

Betty stops in front of it and looks back at Caramel, who eagerly shakes her perfect little head; whiskers long and straight, she suddenly notices. Turning forward, she reaches a hand out to knock..

“He’s waiting to hear how you feel about him.” Caramel purrs.

Betty gasps and pulls her hand back. Staring wide-eyed and with her heart beating quickly. She takes a step back. What _are_ her feelings for Jughead? Caramel comes up to her side, sitting next to her leg and curling her tail. 

“Go ahead, Betty.” She meows. Betty swallows and looks down.

“I...I-”

“What's wrong? Need a reminder? You can check the other doors first and come back!” Caramel says. Betty turns her head down the hallway.

“What’s behind the other doors?” 

Caramel gives her another small smile as her tail flicks.

“The very _first_ door is the beginning of it all. But you don’t have to start from the beginning. You can choose any one, really!” 

“Caramel, I don’t understand.” Betty replies tiredly, pleading with her eyes.

“But you loooove to solve problems Betty!”

She sighs as she looks down at the little cat that was once hers with a tender expression. Although her fur is in a patchwork pattern, she looks just like a regular cat. Almond glossy eyes, small pink nose, triangular ears, long straight whiskers...she’s perfect! Has she always been this perfect? Maybe her new owner takes really good care of her. Betty can’t seem to remember who that is for some reason, though the back of her mind tells her she should know. Caramel continues to smile up at her, then suddenly begins to walk away, heading back down the hall.

“Wait! Where are you going?” She reaches a hand out.

“Tell him how you feel, Betty!” Caramel calls back over her shoulder as she turns the corner of the stretched hallway.

Betty quickly looks to the metal door, then back to where Caramel disappeared off to. Butterflies dancing around in her stomach and her chest constricting tightly.

“I...I don’t know!”

Betty runs down the hall after Caramel, passing the rows of doors on either side of her. Finally she catches sight of the orange tabby, standing in front of one of the doors, slightly opened. She notices she can just make out the entryway to the small kitchen at the very end again.

“But you _do_ know Betty, you’re just confused and frustrated because you’ve had the answer all along. Don't be afraid. It’ll be ok.” 

Betty lets out a breath and for some reason she can’t quite understand, she feels like _crying._

Caramel smiles one more time, her long whiskers lifting from the action, then she walks through the opened door as it quietly shuts behind her. Betty takes a look around herself, at the other doors, still feeling nervous. She looks down towards the end where the kitchen is.

_Caramel said I didn't have to start at the beginning but…_

Betty walks down towards the entryway. An old withered door lays on the left side, this one made of wood. She stops in front of it and takes a deep breath, steadying her nerves. Her hand reaches out and turns the knob, opening it with a soft _click_, as she pushes it further. Sunlight creeps through, blinding her and the smell of chalk and ink fills her nose. She thinks she can even hear kids’ voices. 

She squares her shoulders and walks in, the bright light illuminating the dark hallway briefly before it slowly fades away as the door shuts closed behind her.

  


  


Her eyes slowly open and right away Betty can tell that she’s back in the trailer living room, laying on the couch and under her covers. She can hear birds chirping outside and the sun's early rays peek in through the blinds above her.

_A dream?_

Betty sits up and looks around. No Caramel in sight. Stuffed _or_ strangely real. Her head turns towards the kitchen, where the entryway to the back of the trailer lies. Her heart’s already at work, beating steadily as she gently pulls the blankets away (no socked feet either) and begins to make her way towards Jughead’s bedroom. There’s no curving walls, or extra doors. Just a straight narrow path and one turn at the end for her to make.

Coming up to his door has her feeling the same nervous flutters as she did in her dream.

**_He's waiting to hear how you feel about him._**

Carefully creaking the door open, Betty peaks inside to find Jughead turned on his side, sleeping under a mountain of blankets. She already feels a mild blush on her cheeks as she quietly enters and kneels down by his bed, facing him. Rubbing her sweaty hands against her bare thighs as she carefully looks him over.

He’s breathing easy and looks just as peaceful and beautiful as he did yesterday. Betty tilts her head at him thoughtfully, thinking about dream-Caramel’s words of him ‘waiting’, and how it makes a sharp pain hit her in her chest. 

Her hand reaches out to smooth over his messy cowlicks, which she finds herself smiling softly at. Then she sighs. Crossing her elbows on the edge of his bed, resting her cheek in the crook of her arm and looking at the young man that she’s known for so long and who she realizes, has essentially become a part of her life. 

Her cheeks blush a little more, but not because she’s feeling embarrassed. She feels...what does she feel towards Jughead?

She feels...grateful. Betty’s _glad_ that she met Jughead. She’s happy that fate, or luck or whatever it was, brought them together and she got to meet him. And that somewhere along the line, she slowly began to realize that he’s not so bad. In fact, they get along quite well, now that she thinks about it. Despite his constant teasing, which honestly has been bothering her less and less as of late. 

_But...does she feel something...._more?__

Just thughead stirs a bit under the covers and Betty freezes. Wide eyes unblinking as she watches his movements. He exhales softly and continues to sleep undisturbed. She takes this as her que to leave before he wakes up. She does _not_ want to explain what she was doing in his room. He’d probably think he was dreaming and try to pull her in bed with him. Her mind remembers what that would feel like; laying on him, and adding to the fact that they’d be doing that on his bed, _now_ has her feeling embarrassed and her skin, tingly.

__

Betty carefully gets up and quietly walks back to the door, cheeks heated. She looks him over one last time. Something within her feeling like it needs to burst out, but she ignores it for now and decides to forget her dream as well. Focusing instead on getting the day started as she gently closes his door.

__

  


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Deciding to take advantage of the fact that it’s still so early, Betty quickly hops into the small shower to get started on all of her morning routines. The water is a little cold, but her skin feels warm, thinking about her dream and Jughead. The way he looked sleeping and what _would_ have happened, had he woken up during that moment…

__

She reaches for the shower knob and turns it on high, squealing at the cold water that hits her, trying to get the images out of her head (and to cool her heated skin) as she roughly shampoos her hair. Not wanting to hog the small bathroom, Betty quickly rinses off. She brushes her hair and her teeth, then reaches for her duffle that she brought in with her and pulls out her clean clothes to change into. 

__

Betty tries to distract herself with what meals to make for today, or what else there is to be done around the trailer, but the list comes up short which has her feeling a strange weight in her chest. The weekend has come and gone essentially, and without much left to do, she figures she _could_ just leave sooner than expected, but…

__

A heavy sigh leaves her lips as she slips into her grey stockings, then into her pink denim skirt. She smooths down her grey sweater and checks herself in the small bathroom mirror as best as she can. Her mind starts to contemplate something else now, which has her biting her lip. 

__

When she packed _this_ outfit, she told herself it was because she liked the color combo and that the fabric was comfy. But _now_, as she looks it over, she feels those tingly flutters start to rise again. Feeling _bashful_ because it's actually...pretty cute.

__

Like, _really cute._

__

Kevin would probably say it’s the best outfit that she wore so far this weekend. 

__

And because it’s so cute, it's making her anxious now. Wondering how Jughead will react and/or what he will say. He liked her outfit yesterday, will he like this one? Definitely! Will he be flirty and say something cocky? Or will he be more sincere? She blushes at the thought of his hungry eyes taking her in, making her body feel warm again. 

__

Betty groans.

__

_This **really** shouldn’t be a problem I have to be facing right now! It’s just clothes! I’ve worn skirts around him before._

__

Betty shakes her head as she slips into her trusty keds, then grabs her duffle and whirls around to open the bathroom door and step out. 

__

Only to come face to face with Jughead on the other side, who was getting ready to knock.

__

Both are surprised at being caught in the other’s pathway and Betty feels the butterflies in her stomach bounce around uncontrollably now, as he stares down at her. Causing her skin to warm up even more. Watching his eyes look her over has her knees feeling weak, until finally, he clears his throat and a small shiver runs down her spine.

__

“Uh, sorry I was just checking. Do you need more time?”

__

Betty blinks at that.

__

“Oh. Um-no, I’m done actually.”

__

“You sure? Cuz I can wait-”

__

“No Jug, I’m-I’m sure, all done.” She chuckles awkwardly and motions with her free hand at her herself. Jughead nods, shifting his eyes around. Betty feels her face heat up. He points towards the bathroom behind her.

__

“So I’m just gonna..” He says and she fumbles to move out of the way.

__

“Oh! Yeah, of course. Sorry.” Jughead gives her a small smile.

__

“Thanks." 

__

“Mmhm. No problem. You’re welcome! Anytime!” The door closes and she turns, walking away and looking down at the floor, scrunching her face.

__

_What the hell? Why are you rambling, Betty?_

__

She shakes her head at herself, trying calm her flushed cheeks from the embarrassment of her lame comment. But she’s also feeling a little confused. Jughead was clearly checking her out just now, and yet, he didn’t say anything...

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__

She drops her duffle on the way to the pull-out couch and sits down, hands in her lap. Playing with the hem of her skirt. After some time, she straightens up when she hears the bathroom door open and looks over to the kitchen entryway, feeling her chest pound wildly again.

__

Jughead walks in, scratching his head and yawning. He stops just before entering the living room and wraps his arms up over his head, hugging his elbows and stretching from side to side. The action causes his t-shirt to rise up and Betty swallows and turns her blushing face away. Trying not to think about the muscles and patch of hair she just saw. Twiddling her fingers over the hem of her skirt even faster. His arms come down and he sighs from the stretch.

__

Jughead looks at her: eyes downcast and cheeks as pink as her skirt, which she’s currently playing with. The corner of his lip turns upwards as he watches her, then he clears his throat.

__

“So, goodmorning.” 

__

Betty looks up at him shyly, then ducks her gaze again at his smirk.

__

“Goodmorning.” She replies, biting her lip. She doesn’t see it, but his face softens at her.

__

“Hungry? Want something to eat?” Jughead turns towards the stove. Betty’s cheeks lift a little at that, looking at him from under her lashes and shrugging a shoulder.

__

“I didn’t know you could cook.” He looks back at her, grinning wider and winks.

__

“I make a mean lasagna.”

__

Betty bites her smile before letting out a small laugh, already feeling a little less shy now. She gets up from the couch, hands at her front and smoothing down skirt. 

__

“As great as that sounds, it’s a little early for something so heavy. Plus we don’t have the ingredients.” She shrugs again. Jughead tilt’s his chin. 

__

“Coffee for now, then? Some caffeine to fuel our brains until we can figure out what to have.” 

__

He moves towards the stove, picking up the coffee pot and begins to fill it with water. Betty nods her head.

__

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll help.” She says, then blushes when she realizes it’s really not that hard to boil some water. The back of her mind wonders why she even offered. 

__

“I-I mean! N-nevermind, you got it.” She chuckles awkwardly again. Jughead smiles at her.

__

“Actually, why don’t you finish this while I go fix up the couch?” He says, already walking past her and into the living room.

__

“Oh, Ok.” Betty answers in a small voice.

__

Her heart’s beating a mile a minute and she would really like it to _calm the hell down!_ Why is she feeling so nervous? Plus she keeps saying dumb stuff too, but _why?_

__

Betty moves to put the pot on the stove and with nothing else to do, just stands there. Waiting for the water to start boiling. 

__

“Maybe we can make some pancakes?” She offers, trying to kill the awkward silence (although she’s sure it’s only awkward for _her_ right now.)

__

“Sounds good, check the top right cabinet.” Jughead calls from the living room. Betty opens the wooden cabinet and her eyes scan around until she spots the corner of the pancake mix, all the way at the very top. 

__

_Figures.._

__

She tiptoes to try and reach for it, and her brows crease when her fingers just barely scrape the box. Pushing herself up more, she stretches her arm out to try and reach for it. Growling in annoyance that her attempts to try and pull it down are only resulting in pushing the box further into the cabinet. 

__

Just as she’s about to climb on the damn counter, a larger hand brushes past hers and easily reaches the box, while another places itself on her shoulder, to steady her. Betty instantly feels her body tingle at the warmth from Jughead standing behind her as she comes back down onto her feet. Retreating her hand to her chest to keep her heart from pounding through it. 

__

“Here.” Jughead hands her the box and Betty turns to face him, which she realizes was a mistake. He practically blocked her into the small corner of the kitchen counter, and she looks up at him with wide eyes with the box against her chest. 

__

Something flickers through his gaze and Betty holds her breath. The color in her cheeks rise. Fingers tightening around the box, which Jughead notices.

__

His teeth pull in his bottom lip in for a second, then he relaxes and he sighs softly. Giving her a soft smile before stepping back to look through the other cabinets for the rest items that they will need to cook breakfast with. Betty lowers the box and blinks down to the floor, feeling that strange weight in her chest for a _second_ time now.

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Although breakfast was relatively nice and quiet, Betty couldn’t help thinking, _what next?_ with every bite she took. Her daily routines of cooking, cleaning and watching tv with him, have surely become mundane. She’s done what she needed to do. He’s well enough to take care of himself until Mrs. Jones gets back.

__

“I should probably head back home now.” She finds herself saying suddenly, having stepped into the living room after putting away the dishes. Jughead’s gaze shoots up from his seat on the floor. He was looking through some DVD’s to pick out another movie for her. (Another sweet gesture of his that has something pull painfully in her chest) His expression is nothing short of disheartened.

__

“Oh..” He says, lowering his gaze. Betty quickly replies.

__

“It’s just that - well, there’s not much left for me to do here, and you’re basically all better!" She motions to him with a shrug of her shoulder and a small smile, trying to lighten the mood and hoping it will get that _look_ off his face. Her face falls at his expression, eyeing the carpet.

"So, I should go now, right?” She wonders out loud.

Jughead looks down at the pile of movies, chuckling quietly while he thumbs over the corner of one of the DVDs.

“It’s up to you, Betts. I...If you’re _uncomfortable,_ then-” Betty quickly looks up at him, shaking her head.

__

“I’m not-!...uncomfortable, being around you, Jughead. In fact I...” Her eyes search the floor again as he lifts his head up. Something bubbles within her, wanting to be truthful. She looks back at him, into those bright blues as pink lightly dusts her cheeks.

__

“...I don't mind being here.” She finally says after finding the right words, catching the bob in his throat as he swallows. His voice comes out in a hoarse tone.

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“Then stay.”

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Her skin tingles at that, and he continues.

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“Stay, because you don’t mind.” _Stay with me, for a little longer at least,_ is what she reads in his eyes. Betty takes in a careful breath. Slowly letting it out, so as not to stutter out her reply with a small smile.

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“Okay.”

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Hours later, Jughead leaves to return the cooking dish that he borrowed from his neighbor, so that they could make the lasagna that he bragged about earlier that morning.

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While she waits for his return, Betty divides up the leftovers for him to eat, come the start of the new week. Keeping her mind preoccupied with some random recipes that she would like to try out in her spare time. Jughead comes back into the trailer and stops short when he sees her.

__

Even from behind, Betty looks so dedicated to her work. Her head hangs a bit low, as she puts away the food into tupperware containers. Her ponytail just barely touching the base of her neck. 

__

Jughead’s eyes trail over the skin, up to the small hairs that hang there. She must have felt his presence as she looks over her shoulder to check, then turns back.

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“That was quick, I’m putting away the rest of the lasagna. There’s a container here for your mom too.” 

__

Now while Jughead _is_ listening, he's also finding himself to be easily distracted with the bounce of her curls, lightly dancing over skin. He quietly moves behind her.

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“We definitely cooked way too much though, make sure you eat it so it doesn’t go-” Betty flinches when she feels something touch her. 

__

“-bad.” She exhales softly. Quickly realizing that it’s Jughead’s finger, wrapped around her one of her blonde curls, and although she _would_ have turned around to yell at him before, she finds herself oddly without wanting to do so now. _Curious_ almost, to see what he does next.

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“Jug..?”

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A soft rumble vibrates from his chest.

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“Hmm?” He idly responds, playing with her hair. Suddenly glad that she washed it this morning and had packed her coconut-aloe conditioner too.

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“The, um, f-food..”

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His finger leaves her curl. Gently touching the baby hairs that settle at the base of her neck now, and she shivers at the contact. 

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“Yeah?”

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Jughead starts to slide his finger down her neck, and her palms fist themselves tightly on the counter. Eyes threatening to flutter close. 

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“You..food, um.”

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His finger reaches the juncture of her neck and Betty sucks in a breath. Something compels her to tilt her head to the side as his delicate touch smooths into the dip of her skin. Her shoulders raise slightly as the ticklish tingles spread out from her arms, all the way down to her toes and her heart beats roughly.

__

He traces shapes and patterns, and what she _thinks_ is a small crown, onto her skin. Her face has flushed, panting softly through her lips when he glides his fingers back up and she all but squeezes her legs together when she feels that familiar _heat_ spark in between them again. 

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A sudden knock at the door has them both jump harshly with Jughead retreating his hand back. She hears him cough into his fist as he moves behind her to go answer it. Thankful that he does, as she needs a second to have her head come back down from the clouds and takes in some calming breaths to slow down her heart rate.

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“Jughead, hey, look! I found that movie you were asking about.” Betty hears a voice say, most likely the neighbor he just saw, moments ago.

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“Don’t worry about returning it tonight, lemme know if your girl likes it. Unless of course, you guys don't end up _watching_ it.” The neighbor says with a hint of mirth and Betty blushes hotly.

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“I’m guessing that you're not happy with the movie version of this?” Jughead asks, taking a glance at Betty’s twisted mouth as the ending credits roll. She shyly looks up at him.

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“I just hate it when they drastically change the ending from how it’s supposed to be.” She pouts.

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Jughead chuckles at that. 

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“But they get the bad guy at the end. Are you telling me you prefer it if they don’t?”

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“No, I _do_ but, _how_ they catch him is all wrong!” 

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“At least when we did the play during our 2nd year, we kept to the original ending.” 

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Betty gives him an inquisitive look, a small smile tugging at her lips.

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“We did...you remember that?”

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“Yeah, of course I remember.” Jughead grins. Getting up and walking over to the corner of the trailer where a small bookshelf lies. He pulls something out and shows off the brown leather to her.

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It’s a photo album.

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He sits back down on the couch and opens it up. Betty tentatively shifts a little closer to look, peering up at him with eagerness as he turns a few pages, catching sight of the Jones’ and a few other family members. She grins at the older ones of him as a kid, looking like such a little trouble maker. But of course knowing now, he’s a good guy deep down.

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“Here, see?”

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He hands the album over and Betty feels a tingle in her fingers from when they brush over his to take it. She looks down at the photo he was pointing at and her lips spread into a wide smile. 

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“Kevin was a hard-ass as a junior director, but it was a lot of fun.” He says.

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It’s a class photo taken in their early sophomore year, as they were rehearsing. Wearing bits and pieces of their final costumes. She spots Jughead and his gang near the back, goofing off as usual and in ridiculous poses with stolen props, as she remembers they had volunteered to help build the stage and paint scenery instead. She’s quite positive Jughead had roped the Serpents into helping, so that he could be close to her during the production.

__

She giggles at that, and her eyes scan over the other photos as she turns the pages. Feeling nostalgic over the memories of their younger days.

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Her eyes land on another one. Freshman year, of _her_ with her debate team. There’s a crease in the photo, indicating it must have been folded over at some point to hide away her other classmates. Betty blushes lightly at that. Then she takes in the way she was dressed; some awful, tan-colored sweater vest with flowers on it, chino shorts, loafers and gingham crew socks. 

__

She blushes a little harder at that and clears her throat. She’d like to think her choice in clothing has improved a little bit over the years now, no longer needing to look so...serious. Especially for a 15 year old. She’s not giving up her keds though, and is glad that she’s wearing a cute skirt and a much more flattering sweater right now.

__

Jughead reads right through her, and smiles coyly as he looks over the old photo.

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“You certainly had _style_.” He teases. Betty frowns at him, ears feeling hot. 

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“S-Shut up.”

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“What? It’s a compliment.” He grins.

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“Har-Har, Jug.” Betty rolls her eyes. “As if anyone would like an outfit like that.” 

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Jughead shrugs his shoulder.

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“I did.”

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Betty looks at him. His eyes soften at her, smiling warmly.

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“I thought you were cute, looking all scholarly like that.” 

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Her skin heats up immensely and she has to break away. Blinking down at the photos and feeling that pulse again, making her thighs squeeze. Unsure of what to say, she simply hands him back the album, and Jughead stands to go put it away. His words still floating inside her head. 

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Seeing pictures of _her,_ recounting stories of _her,_ sharing and learning the things he’s done, all for _her,_ has Betty rub her hands together nervously. She then finds herself standing up to follow him.

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Her dream comes back to her. Of Caramel’s words. Of the trailer door. Of all the events she and Jughead had shared, even going back to that first evening in Pop’s, when her face burned something hot when she found herself questioning something about _him_ and how quickly she had thrown that idea out, and how _awful_ she feels for doing so.

__

Her cup of emotions had filled to the top, about to overflow. Except _now_ she won't run away if it threatens to spill. She won't. And so she finds herself _needing_ to ask him now.

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_No more running, Betty._

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“Jughead?” She speaks softly. Her face tinted pink and her anxious heart beating away painfully.

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_No more running._

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He turns to her and she bites her lip for a moment.

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_No more running._

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“Why me?”

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He looks at her, momentarily taken aback by her question. Then, they both realize that this is it. This is the moment he lays bare everything. 

  


_No more running._

  


Jughead swallows thickly, giving her a determined look as he takes a step closer. A small blush, creeping on his cheeks.

“Betty..." She sucks in a breath, looking up at him as he stands tall before her.

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No more running, Betty.

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"It’s because, I…”

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_tbc..._

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the last one! Apologies in advance, as it's definitely the shortest, (I'm still trying to rack my brain to kick up that word count though) But!! It has the one thing you've all been waiting for! How do you think the big K-I-S-S will happen?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty is ready to come to terms with Jughead’s feelings, as well as her own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel very emotional to be wrapping this up rn, but at the same time, I'm happy that it's done. Sorry that it's so short, but it's got some great fluff and what I _hope_ are some beautiful and clever imagery that lies ahead. I’d like to reveal that this story was actually intended to be a one shot, but I think we are all _much_ happier that it turned into a multi-chap instead, and before I came up with the final title, it was going to be something along the lines of: “Cats, Tongues, and Knee High Socks.”
> 
> I think you guys may have picked up on one (or two) of these things being talked about more often than once. It was all intentional and one of them plays into the end. Can you guess which one it will be? 
> 
> So without further ado, please enjoy the finale to, _A Remedy For Your Love._
> 
> (cover art by: aam-loves ❤️️)

# Chapter 7

### 

  
  


Betty knows the cliche. 

Your heart beats so loudly, you’re worried that the other person will hear it. And in this very moment, she’s certain that Jughead can hear hers as it pounds away in the quietness of the trailer. His eyes lock with hers and she steadies herself. Squeezing her hands tightly against her stomach to quell the swirl of nerves as he approaches her.

“Betty...”

Her eyes momentarily leave his to watch him swallow his own nerves, before he speaks back up again.

“It’s because I....was just so captivated by you, right from the start. The moment I saw you, I just knew that you were special.”

Her flesh breaks out in goosebumps. Vividly remembering that day, all those years ago when he first stepped foot into the classroom and they were caught in each other's stare. She also recalls the smell of ink from her pen, and the dust of chalk that lingered in the air, having been seated so close to the front.

Jughead smiles as he too, briefly remembers, then he continues.

“So beautiful and different, and once I got to _know_ you, that was it. I never met someone as strong willed and passionate as you. You could definitely lead your own gang.” He lamely jokes. Betty can’t help but smile softly at him, even with the steady thrum in her chest and the light blush on her face from hearing him say it all so effortlessly.

Jughead inhales deeply, and it makes her back tingle with chills, anticipating what he is about to say next.

_“No one_ else could hold my interest. _No one_ else was as fiery and smart, and sweet as you. I just found it all so wonderful and sexy and-”

He sighs, struggling with his words, making her heart _ache._ Seeing him run a hand through his hair, and looking down for a moment, has Betty inhale sharply. The blood in her veins pump faster, when he looks back up. His face as serious as she’s ever seen it.

“Betty,” Jughead speaks softly, moving closer. Leaving only about a foot of space between them now. Her doe-eyes shift as she stares into him.

“After all these years, I think it’s been pretty obvious, but...I'm sorry I never said it to you properly, out loud. You deserve to hear it.” 

Betty’s chest heaves. All the emotions that she’s been experiencing these past couple of days are fighting to keep themselves contained within her heart, ready to burst right through her rib cage. He nods his head, taking in a deep breath.

No more running, she reminds herself. Jughead reaches down and squeezes her hand gently.

“Betty.”

His voice is soft, _warm._ She looks into those beautiful blues filled to the brim with emotion and it makes _her_ eyes feel like they will overflow instead. His expression is tender as he looks her over. Then, he tells her in a very quiet and gentle tone,

“I love you.” 

Betty lets go of the breath she was holding. Her wide gaze stays unblinking and focused solely on him.

“I love you, Betty. So goddamn much I...I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes. But I do know that I love you, with everything in me and I know I can be a smart-ass sometimes, but what I feel is real and true, and honestly? I’m glad Southside High shut down because it led me to you.” His thumb brushes over her hand, smiling softly at her.

“I’ve had the privilege of seeing you, every single day and falling in love.” His hand comes up to cup her face, and she automatically leans into his palm. 

“You’re the love of my life, Betts.”

She bites her quivering lip. Her voice comes out choked.

“Jug, I-” 

“It's ok, Betty. You don’t have to say anything.” He quickly responds, squeezing her hand tight. A sad smile on his face, making Betty wear a sorrowful frown of her own.

“I just wanted you to know, and no matter what, I’ll always love you.” His thumb rubs her cheek. “It’ll be ok.”

Letting her go entirely, he moves past her. Heading out of the living room, destination unknown. As she watches him walk away from her, time suddenly feels like it starts to slow down. Leaving Betty to stand there with her heart swelling up from hearing his confession.

He loves her.

He _LOVES_ her!

Why was she so afraid to accept it? She thinks that maybe someone like her, probably wasn’t worthy of someone like him and his love. But he said it himself, no one else held his interest. And now that she thinks about it, no one else held hers, either.

No other face or name comes to mind when she tries to think of who else has occupied so much of her time or thoughts. Jughead tore her defenses down, letting her see that there’s so much more to the world than the straight path that she was so dead-set on traveling, alone.

Bringing her nose out of the books that she was always so deeply engrossed in, and having the boring black and white pages suddenly spring new with _color_.

Her whole world has been slowly blooming with color, all thanks to him.

** _It’ll be ok_ **

Those words hit her again. The same exact words that dream-Caramel said, and remembering what she was _feeling_ at that very moment. Betty looks at the back of the young man before her.

Thinking about his sweet and caring gestures. His intense, beautiful eyes. That low and erotic voice...What does she feel? It makes her feel...flustered, but in a good way. She feels happy, grateful! Marveled at how gentle he can be, despite how tough he may look. Appreciative of all that he’s done for her, always putting her first. 

He makes her heart pound, and her knees weak. Her skin heats up, thanks to those cheeky smiles on his beautifully marked face. Not to mention the way her body aches and throbs from the _smoldering_ intensity that he looks at her with. Always.

All these things that make up who _Jughead Jones_ is….Betty cherishes them! Every single one! She can’t imagine not admiring him.

The thought of anyone else learning these things about him, burns her up. No one else could ever understand him like her. She’s certain of it. There couldn't possibly be no other person in the world that cares about him as strongly as she does, because she lov-!

Betty gasps. A stray tear falling down her cheek which she quickly wipes away, thankful that Jughead has his back turned from her.

A small laugh leaves her, astonished at her revelation and suddenly, everything quickly comes back into full motion and with renewed vigor, her body rushes towards him.

“Jug!” Betty reaches a hand out. He turns around, puzzled at the urgency in her voice. Betty grips his arms and his hands automatically hold onto her shoulders, looking her over with worried brows over the frantic sort-of look she has.

“Jughead, I-” She leans in closer to him. His breath gets caught at the movement. Staring at her with anticipation. Wondering what’s got her so frenzied all of a sudden. 

“I-!”

A brief flash of her dream hits her again. The image of the trailer/bedroom door. Something tells her she needs to rack her brain at what it could mean. What is this memory trying to tell her?

_...That it wasn’t his **bedroom** door, it was the..._

She thinks back to when she first arrived, and how anxious and hesitant she felt. But she isn't right now, not anymore. It’s _then_ that the final piece of the puzzle falls into place, when she remembers what she was _wearing_ in her dream as well.

It make her realizes that this isn’t the way she wants it to go. Betty blinks up at him, mouth agape.

“...I need to go.” She finally says. 

Confusion sweeps Jughead's face. Betty frantically shakes her head, trying to reassure him. 

“It’s not what you think! Don't go anywhere, Ok? I’ll-I’ll be right back!” She runs out the trailer, leaving a stunned Jughead behind.

Betty jumps into her car and quickly starts it up, peeling back out of the driveway and nearly toppling over neighboring trash cans as she speeds out of the trailer park. Leaving clouds of dust behind as she drives away.

  


  


Jughead feels a heavy weight resting in his chest. Nervously waiting for Betty to come back. She said she would, right?

Still, he can’t help but worry he might have chased her away. No, she was going to tell him something though...but what? And why leave all of a sudden? 

_“Fuck!”_ He leans his elbows onto his knees, shielding his face with both hands. _Praying_ that she comes back and that he didn’t just fuck up the friendship that he had with her, at least.

  


  


Betty _swears_ that once this is all over, she will take up Kevin’s offer to go on those morning jogs, as she finds herself gasping for air when she reaches the second floor landing and hastily bolts into her bedroom. Frantically pulling her dresser drawers open and throwing out the contents one by one behind her.

The adrenaline pumping in her veins is making her whole body shake as she searches.

When she finds what she’s looking for, she rushes back down the flight of stairs, nearly tripping over the last step. Not even bothering to lock the front door behind her as she dashes out of the house. Hauling herself back into the car and burning skid marks into the pavement as she races back to Sunnyside trailer park.

  


  


Just as he feels about ready to punch his fist through the coffee table, the sounds of rapid knocks has Jughead jump off the couch and lunge for the trailer door. Swinging it open so hard, it almost comes off the hinges but the tight grip from his hand steadily holds it in place.

Betty stands there, breathing heavily and looking up at him with her big, wide eyes. Her face is flushed from running around and her ponytail is lopsided with loose strands and flyaways sticking to her sweaty face.

Jughead looks at her, deeply confused. Where on earth she had run off to? Why did she leave? What was she about to say to him? What's going on-?

His eyes narrow when he notices that something is….different. Different about her. He looks her over, realizing that she’s changed _out_ of her grey tights and into...

... a pair of white, knee-high socks.

Although his brow further creases, his heart skips a beat.

“Jughead.”

He looks at Betty. Her cheeks blushing steadily while she pants, trying to catch her breath. Finally, she says,

“I love you, too.” 

The wind feels like it gets knocked out of him. Searching her desperately. Betty reaches up with both hands to grab his face and gently brings him down at the same time she tip-toes and softly presses her lips against his own.

It’s an explosion of feeling and Betty welcomes it.

Focusing on the warmth and tingles, the electricity and everything that rushes and pulses and shivers and just, goes right through her. It's new and strangely familiar, all at once. It’s a feeling that she’s finally, _finally_ admitting to;

Betty Cooper loves Jughead Jones.

Jughead’s wide eyes blink for a moment before they close and he kisses her back. Taking her lips between his own and marveling at how wonderfully soft they are. A feeling he’s always dreamed of, and it doesn't compare in the slightest. He’s kissing her! She’s kissing him! She said she loves him too! Betty loves him!

His heart beats erratically within his chest, ready to burst out. 

So he lets go of the door and tightly wraps his arms around her, pulling her close to him in hopes of concealing his pounding heart within.

Betty presses her mouth harder against him, and it spurs him on to easily lift her up from the porch floor. Her calves bend upwards from the movement, and although their heads have changed positions with his tilting back and hers leaning downwards, their lips stay in contact from switch.

Her fingertips softly caress his face, tracing over her favorite beauty marks on his cheeks. It makes Jughead tighten his hold and he spins her around the small wooden porchway.

Betty breaks the kiss to squeal and laugh. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He laughs too, loud and hearty. 

When he stops, he’s re-adjusted his hold on her, and he buries his face into the juncture of her neck. Betty leans her head against his own, sighing in content. He hugs her tightly and she feels a small wetness adorne her skin, along with the sound of a quiet sniffle.

Betty muses that it’s _not_ from a runny nose.

Hugging his shaking shoulders even tighter, she smiles softly as her own eyes prick with wetness. Jughead lets out a wet, shaky breath against her collarbone then gently pulls his head back to look up at her. They both smile. Staring into each other’s happy, glossy eyes. 

Betty leans back down towards him and softly captures his lips again. Without breaking the kiss, he walks them back into the trailer. Kicking the door shut behind them.

  


  


Jughead can’t stop kissing her as he cups her face. He kisses her lips, her chin, her jaw. Peppering kisses to both of her cheeks and temples, her forehead, then moving down towards her nose. Betty giggles and bashfully covers her face with her hands. He even kisses those too, before gently prying them away so he can kiss her smiling lips once more.

  


  


That night, when Betty lays curled up in her bed, she stares off into nothing in particular. She hugs her pillow and buries her face into it, feeling _beyond_ happy. The ping of her phone has her quickly reaching for it to read a message saying:

**I love you.**

She’s hardly phased by the pain in her cheeks from smiling so much, and wonders if she’ll get any sleep from how awake her body feels, being fueled by the warmth spreading within her bones. Smiling even wider, Betty types her response:

**I love you, too.**

  


  


When she finally does fall asleep, Betty dreams about standing in her freshman classroom.

There’s drawings of cats and snakes on the chalkboard and only two desks lay about in the whole empty room. The one up front is clean and polished. While the other, way off in the back, is worn and a little worse for wear.

Betty walks over to the rougher looking desk and picks it up. She makes her way back towards the front and places it next to the shiny, spotless one. Her hand comes down onto the rugged surface of the beat-up desk. Trailing her fingers into the grooves of initials that knife marks have made. Her fingertips follow the small straight line and double half circles and she smiles.

“Betty.”

She turns around to find Jughead leaning against the doorframe, waiting for her and smiling too. The classroom door is a mismatch of materials, she notices; wood, metal and glass.

Betty returns his smile, cheeks lifting high and giggling as she rushes over to him.

Taking his outstretched hand in her own and intertwining their fingers as they walk out. Leaving the two opposite desks to stay in the front as sunlight softly illuminates both from the tall classroom windows.

  


  


_\- Some time later -_

“I can’t believe they are giving us a take-home test!” Kevin whines.

“At least you don't have to write out a whole paper for Mr. Fritz.” Veronica sighs. Kevin shakes his head in disbelief.

“This is a crime, we’ve practically graduated already! Why would they give us all this work? Who enjoys this?”

“I don’t mind it.” Betty says chirpily with a shrug of her shoulders as she watches the waiter mix their shakes. Veronica and Kevin turn their heads in to glare at their nerdy blonde friend. 

As the waiter places their milkshakes onto the counter one by one, they head off into the left side of the diner to take their seats. Betty takes a sip of her strawberry milkshake and spots Jughead waiting for them in one of the booths with an arm outstretched onto the vinyl. The Serpent's sit behind him in their own booth, loudly laughing and talking amongst each other.

He’s not paying any attention to them, though. He’s got his eyes right on her and he smiles wide when she approaches.

Veronica and Kevin slide into the seats across from Jughead, and Betty sheepishly smiles back as she takes a seat next to him. He wraps his arm around her waist and tucks her in close. Crossing her socked legs under the table, Betty gives him a coy smile and shyly offers a sip of her milkshake.

His smile is warm as he lowers his head to take a sip and her eyes return that warmth as she gazes up at him with all of her heart.

Veronica and Kevin turn towards each other and cheekily grin. The Serpents have even quieted down, sporting wide grins of their own as they try not to look over at their _King_ and stare.

When he pulls back, Jughead licks his lips before looking down at her own, giving her a playful smirk. Betty bites her smile. Lowering the milkshake just as he’s lowering his smiling face towards her, of which she happily tilts her chin up to meet him.

  


  


  


_“Achoo!!”_

Betty had turned her head away at the last second, quickly covering her mouth. She blinks her eyes open and turns back to Jughead, who is sporting a surprised look of his own with his eyebrows raised high.

Uh, oh. 

Betty might have caught something when she was taking care of Jughead, after all. Thankfully, she’s already learned the perfect remedy to cure it:

  


  


  


  


  


_Love._

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_~fin~_

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it totally pathetic to tear up a little at your own work? Because I shamelessly did. Thank you ALL for showing such love and support for my little story. I’m so happy all of you enjoyed it so, so much!
> 
> <strike>Now, if you loved this little AU of Nerd!Betty and Serpent!Jug, then you’re in luck because their story isn’t completely over just yet! They did _just_ confess their love for each other, and it’s only getting started from there ;) There will be more fluff, more laughs and of course, SMUT. So be on the lookout for that! </strike>
> 
> From the bottom of my heart, thank you again ❤️️❤️️
> 
> [Blasts Tove Strike's, _Number One_ and dances] 
> 
> -❤️️ b

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -b


End file.
